Alone Together
by Forest Girl Kaz
Summary: A new adventure, new places, new emotions? Link discovers the Forest Temple holds more secrets than he or Saria ever knew.
1. A new adventure

Author's note: I've had this story in mind for a long time now so I thought it was about time I put it up. Yep that's about all. Enjoy…I hope. Constructive feedback is always welcome.

Disclaimer: Yes I own The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess has been delayed because I've been so busy writing this story. Not.

* * *

Link sighed deeply as he rode Epona across Hyrule Field. He had just been up to Hyrule Castle where Zelda had unexpectedly invited him to move into the castle, as much as the boy liked the princess, he wasn't ready to see her every single day. After that, she had insisted on throwing a huge party for his upcoming thirteenth birthday which he couldn't refuse, so in two days time he was expected to at least make an appearance in the castle where the celebration would take place. Of course, in reality no one actually knew when Link's birthday was, but he had concluded to go by the day he had arrived in the forest which seemed reasonable to everyone else. Before all of that, he had decided to go somewhere he hadn't been in over a year: Kokiri Forest. He had thought about going there many times but something always seemed to come up, if it wasn't troubles going on in other countries, it was Zelda asking him to carry out useless errands that she didn't even need help doing. The main reason Link was going to the Forest was to see his best friend Saria. The only contact they had been having was through the ocarinas and this had been getting less and less what with all the things Zelda wanted to do with him, so whenever he could Link would travel down to Lake Hylia and sit on the grassy banks to talk to Saria in peace. But no matter how much he did this, it was never as good as the real thing. 

Link smiled as the Forest entrance came into view, the large hollow log looked exactly the same as it had done when he left. Dismounting Epona, he told her to head back to Lon Lon Ranch then made his way inside the log where his childhood home was waiting.

The sun was slowly setting casting a golden glow over the Kokiri village, fairies and forest spirits serenely danced in the air creating a magical atmosphere only known to the forest children. Link stepped through the trunk and looked around.

"Hmm looks just the same…" he mumbled as he began to walk around the village. Suddenly, a familiar sneering voice greeted him from behind.

"You know strangers aren't supposed to enter the Forest?" Link turned to see none other than the boy who had made most of his childhood years unbearable.

"Well Mido, it's lucky I'm not a stranger then isn't it?" Link turned around smirking when he saw that Mido's full height only reached up to his shoulders.

Mido quickly jumped back a little when he saw who he had been talking to.

"Link….is that you? I thought you were dead." the self proclaimed Kokiri leader whispered.

Link raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Dead? Sheesh, does Saria not talk to you anymore?"

"No not really, she spends most of her time up in the Lost Woods, she mentioned something about the temple then disappeared a few days ago." Mido replied recomposing himself trying to look as tall as Link which wasn't working very well.

Link turned to gaze in the direction of the Lost Woods, deciding there was nothing keeping him in the village, he headed towards the cliff leading into the woods.

"Hey wait!" Mido yelled running after Link. "How did you get so big?"

Link pulled himself up at the top of the vines and turned around. "I'll tell you all about it some time," he grinned then entered the Lost Woods.

* * *

As soon as he appeared in the woods, Link took out the Ocarina of Time that Zelda had entrusted to him before he had fallen into Termina. Placing the instrument to his lips, he began to play the warp song of the Forest Temple: The Minuet of the Forest. 

In a flash of green light, Link vanished and reappeared in the Sacred Forest Meadow. Taking a step back, the boy marvelled at the beauty of the old building, patches of dark green moss clung to the grey stone walls, vines hung lazily from the rooftop while a single tree arched itself over the high entrance where the steps had crumbled away over time leaving no easy way to enter for the average person.

"No matter where I go this place is still one of the serenest spots that I've ever seen." Link said to himself as he took out his hookshot that he had found in Termina ready to scale the tree, but before he had a chance to aim, he noticed a long rope ladder tied to the tree. "Wow, I guess Saria's been busy," he mused putting the weapon away to climb the ladder.

Inside the temple, the light was dim creating an eerie atmosphere which kept most of the Kokiri children away from the mansion-like building. But there was one girl who had always been fascinated by the mysterious woods and especially the Forest Temple. She stood in one of the many dark rooms sorting through a pile of tattered dusty books.

"Being the future Forest Sage if we're needed again I guess I should try and tidy this place up a little," Saria didn't actually remember the future where Link had defeated Ganondorf since she hadn't been the one travelling through time, but Link had filled her in on everything that had happened. Being told she was the Sage of the Forest was quite overwhelming, although not surprising since she had always felt a deep connection to her home.

You've done an excellent job so far," a small blue ball of light chirped from its resting place on one of the cupboards. Looking closer, one could see the ball was actually a male fairy. Nori, Saria's faithful guardian fairy was a generally quiet soul until he got talking, then it was a task to shut him up. Nonetheless, he cared deeply for Saria, finding it a great honour to watch over the Forest Sage.

Putting a final book into a small box, Saria lifted it to carry out the door. Before she had a chance to move, footsteps faintly echoed through the rooms getting closer every second. The door slowly creaked open, Saria narrowed her eyes.

"Mido I already told you I don't ne-" she stopped mid sentence when the door fully opened

"Hey, I'm twice as good looking as him!" Link stood smiling in the door. Saria dropped the box and ran over to him pulling her best friend into a hug. Nori inwardly growled to himself, it wasn't that he didn't like Link, it was more to do with the pain he'd caused his charge by leaving her those few years ago. He sometimes wished Saria had never gotten involved with Link.

"Link I missed you so much," Saria whispered into his shoulder.

"I missed you too," Link replied returning the hug slightly lifting her from the floor due to the now noticeable height difference. The two remained that way for a moment then broke apart. "So what were you doing in here?" he asked taking a look around.

Saria picked up the box again walking over to him. "Nothing much just making things look a bit cleaner, I've been collecting all the books together to make a library for the temple."

"You really are taking this Sage thing seriously aren't you?" Link joked leaning on the same cupboard Nori was sitting on. The fairy shifted quickly away from the boy, Link wondered why he was acting so oddly.

"It's not that, you know I've always been interested in this place and someone has to look after it, who better than me?"

"Good point, need some help?" Link asked moving away from the cupboard to stand up straight.

"That would be nice," Saria beamed. As she looked at him, there was something different, the height was an obvious thing but there was something more, new confidence maybe? "You've grown so much…" she absentmindedly said out loud.

Link put his hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah I suppose I have, but it doesn't mean I'm too old to do this!" he ran behind her, grabbed her hair band and swiftly made for the door taunting her with it by shaking it in the air.

"Link! Give that back!" Saria yelled swinging around to chase after him chucking the box aside.

"You'll have to catch me first!" he shouted back now entering the main temple area. Four brightly lit candles were placed in the centre of the room along with a wooden elevator. Running down the stairs from the previous room, Link made a dash for the elevator closely followed by an annoyed Saria who just made it onto the thing before it started moving down.

"Hmm looks like it still works," Link said while Saria looked amazed and scared at the same time. "Don't tell me you never knew what this was?" he started to laugh lightly when he got a better look at her face.

"I-I just never got round to examining it yet!" Saria countered snatching her hair band back as the elevator came to a halt in the basement.

"Sure," Link chuckled as he moved past her into the circular chamber. "Now, if my memory serves me right, all we need to do is move this outer wall in a certain direction and we'll have the hidden room," he mumbled walking towards one of the walls pointing out. Using all of his strength, the young hero pushed at the wall but nothing happened.

"Ugh my muscles aren't what they used to be in the future," he wheezed still trying to move the unwilling wall.

"Here, let me help," Saria offered coming to his side. He blushed, one of Link's weaknesses was asking for help, it was either shoved in his face or he got none at all. Together the two managed to slowly but surely get it to turn revealing a small empty hole.

"Ok one more time should do it," Link instructed giving the wall another shove to expose the hidden door. Saria was the first to reach it running a hand over the door to feel the smooth dark wood.

"This is the finest Deku wood you can find, pretty impressive. It was smart of you to find this area Link," she turned to see Link hurrying up behind her smiling. He was rarely ever called smart, usually it was 'the hero' or the 'brave one' but never smart, that sort of comment was saved for people like Zelda. Nori too, was impressed at Link's discovery. Landing neatly on Sara's head, he stopped for a breather.

"Heh, I just had to do a lot of exploring through these temples, at least there's no giant lock chained to it this time," he gave the door a shove and walked inside.

The room was soaked in a dim green hue, the walls were covered with dirt and mould closing the room into a circular shape. Copies of the same aged looking painting lined some parts of the wall, a dull crooked house stared out from the pictures watching all those that entered. The centre floor had a large Triforce design engraved onto it, more than likely ancient Sage handy work. However, unlike the last time Link had been here, the room was now not an empty one. Carefully arranged on rotting tables was an assortment of odd looking ornaments and worn old books. Blowing the dust off the top most book, Saria read the title. '_Fond Memories' _It said in faded scribbled hand writing. Below it was something else, barely noticeable but there all the same. '_Property of Amy, Joelle, Beth and Meg_'.

"The Poe Sisters," Link explained before Saria could even ask. "They haunted this temple during the reign of Ganondorf, they…..tried to hurt you," he hesitantly finished clenching a fist in anger. Saria could feel the hate radiating from him as she watched Link drowning in his own memories, gently placing a hand on his arm she brought him out of his thoughts.

"It's ok now, everything worked out right in the end didn't it? What you went through must have been awful though, I can't even begin to imagine it."

Link nodded silently in agreement, it had been hard but she was right, it was over. Turning back to the book, Saria opened it to the first page which seemed to be a picture.

"It's a pictograph," Link informed pointing at the picture. "Looks like it was taken right here in this temple a long time ago in the main room."

The pictograph itself as Link had guessed, was indeed one of the main area of the temple but it looked so different. The whole thing was lit brightly with large magically powered chandeliers hanging from various parts of the high ceiling. Elegant candles were dotted around the room creating an added glow to the place, a dark green carpet covered the cold stone floor matching the forest theme perfectly. On one side of the room was a large banquet table lined with Deku nuts, seeds, Deku Scrub Pie, Wolfos meat and many other delicious treats, Link's stomach growled from just looking at them. The main attraction though, were four beautiful young women standing smiling in the centre of it all. Any person could see that they must have been some kind of nobles, even royalty. Each wore a long silk ball gown covered in neatly sown sequins that sparkled in the candle light.

"Each woman has a dress the same colour as one of the candles upstairs," Saria commented staring at the scene in wonder.

Suddenly, there was a loud haunting shriek from the upper area of the temple, Saria dropped the book in shock causing Nori to tumble onto her shoulder.

"I don't like the sound of that," Link whispered grabbing Saria by the arm, "let's get out of here." he added dragging her towards the elevator which shot up the same way it had before.

Back in the main room, the pair stepped off the elevator and made to leave. As they neared the entrance, Link caught a glimpse of a moving figure in the corner of his eye, deciding he didn't want to risk getting Saria in any danger, he would come back later that night.

* * *

In Hyrule Castle, preparations were being made for Link's big party. Zelda was sat with her attendant Impa in a large sitting room centred in the castle. Holding a long scroll of paper, Zelda read aloud from it. 

"On the day of Link's birthday I told him to meet me at the castle. At first I was thinking whether or not to hold it in the market itself, but I think that would get a little hectic, so I asked my father and he agreed it would be best to hold it here," Zelda paused for a moment to see what Impa thought so far.

"Well you certainly have it all planned out don't you?" Impa smiled looking down the list, "you must really care about him."

"It's just that he's done so much for Hyrule and me, I watch him sometimes sitting in the courtyard, he looks so lost and alone, he deserves some happiness for once," she looked down at the floor, "do you think that's silly?"

Impa put the paper down on the table near them then placed a hand on Zelda's. "That's not silly at all, it's a lovely thought and I'm sure he will appreciate it. Now, who will you be inviting?"

"I'm not sure, I thought I'd make it an open for all event but you know that some people still doubt that Link is actually the Hero of Time since they've never seen him do much with their own eyes and I don't want any trouble."

Impa nodded in agreement. "Then we'll only invite his friends and a few others who know him from around the place."

Zelda stood up and began to pace the room. "Ok let's see, there's Malon and her dad from Lon Lon Ranch, all of the future Sages of course and maybe some of their people, some of the shop owners from the market seem to get on well with him so they can come too if they wish and a few people from Kakariko. I'd say that's about it."

Impa carefully wrote all of the names down on the bottom of the list so she could get invites sent out the next day. "It's a shame the Kokiri can't leave the Forest isn't it? Isn't his closest friend from there? Saria was it?" Impa asked looking up at the princess who was still pacing the room.

"Yeah…" Zelda sighed, "he likes to talk about her a lot, do you think if she could leave he'd forget about me?"

Impa stopped writing and stood with Zelda. "Oh I doubt that, he doesn't seem the kind of person who would forget any of his friends. Now I must be going to get these invites moving, if you need anything give me a shout."

Zelda watched Impa leave the room then flopped down in a large scarlet armchair. "The problem is that having Sage blood, Saria can leave her home whenever she chooses, she just hasn't worked it out yet," Zelda mumbled to herself hugging a pillow close to her.

* * *

The Lost Woods was silent apart from the quiet conversation going on between two friends. After leaving the temple, Link and Saria had sat talking about various things for the rest of the evening. 

"So where are you off to next?" Saria asked.

"Probably back to the castle," Link mumbled. "I'll have to leave tomorrow evening at the latest to make it there in time for my birthday celebrations."

"Oh…" Saria stared down at the grass covered ground, taking a few blades between her fingers she twisted them tightly.

"Is something wrong?" Link looked at her obliviously wondering what she was thinking.

"I was hoping I'd get to see you on your birthday this year but it's alright as long as you're happy," she managed to say holding back a few tears as she realised after each birthday he had, Link would grow further and further away from her until coming to this forest wouldn't phase him anymore.

Link noticed what she was doing, he knew her well enough to know when she was hiding her true feelings. "Hey it's ok," he said putting an arm around her, "I'll never forget you, how could I? You're the best friend I've ever had and you always will be. Even when I'm old and grey I'll make sure to come visit, I promise."

Saria rubbed her eyes then smiled. "Thanks, that means a lot." Link returned the smile yawning shortly after.

"Hmm it's getting late, we should call it a night," he stood stretching his arms above his head.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning then," Saria waved as she walked back to the village, Link had said he'd be along soon. Turning to the temple, he climbed up the ladder for the second time that day.

The temple was dark, a light wind whistled through the rooms as Link slowly made his way to the centre of the building. He let out a gasp when he entered the main chamber, all of the candles had been blown out and the elevator had disappeared. Link cautiously moved forward taking out his sword from its sheath; something else was in the room with him.

"At last you have come, we have been waiting for the one who holds the Triforce of Courage to arrive and now that you have the journey can begin!" a loud voice echoed around the room followed by four different coloured poes flickering into sight. Link tightened his grip on his sword wondering what they were talking about.

"What journey are you on about?" he asked keeping a close eye on each one as they settled in a circle around him.

"Do not fear us, we won't harm you," a purple poe moved closer to him, "My name is Meg, I am the eldest of my sisters and I, we were hoping you would help us."

Link loosened his grip but wasn't comfortable enough to put the sword away yet. "Help you with what?"

"You see, we know Ganondorf has been sealed away in the future now, but before he left this time he placed a terrible curse on the four of us and made us do his evil bidding. He said if we did not co-operate he would destroy our bodies that he took and hid in other lands. Without the hope that one day we would regain our natural forms we had nothing."

"So you want me to go on a quest to find a bunch of corpses?" Link raised a brow scratching his forehead.

"They are not dead, the bodies would have been magically preserved to prevent the ageing process. Each body will have an ancient spell pendant that represents it, every time you open a pendant one of us will join you."

Link took it all in as he thought for a moment. "How do I know this isn't some kind of trap? What would anyone gain from you having your original bodies back?"

"Well ,you saw that pictograph in the basement didn't you? In our proper states we have incredible powers especially when harnessed together with the Forest Sage's, but of course, she has not awoken yet."

Link caught on to what they were saying, if he helped them they'd help tidy up the temple to make it look a lot better than it did right now. "Ok so where do I start?" he asked.

"That's the only thing we're unsure of, but we know one thing; you will need Saria."

"That's impossible! She's not allowed to leave the Forest and besides it's too dangerous."

"You may be the Hero of Time but you're not too smart are you boy?" Meg chuckled, "Sages can go wherever they please, even Kokiri ones. I assume there would be some consequence for her leaving though so you'll have to take that up with the Deku Sprout."

Link groaned, he was being sent on some random quest by a group of ghosts who had lost their bodies and to top it all off they wanted him to take Saria along as well, not that that part was a major problem since he got on with her like no other, he just didn't know if she'd actually be willing to go.

"When you retrieve each pendant one of us will join up with you to aid you in any way we can, then we will return here to help with the temple."

"Fine, I'll see what I can do, it may take some time though so be patient," with that, Link sheathed his sword ready to go home for the night.

Saria sat silently in her house. Rubbing her eyes once more she pulled a blanket tightly around herself. Nori sighed, he could see where this was going; the same thing had happened last time. If only there was something he could do to cheer her up.

* * *

The next morning, small sunbeams danced along the floor of Link's tree house home. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he stumbled out into the morning air. 

"Feels weird to be waking up here," he said to himself sliding down the old wooden ladder from his house. Walking past Saria's house he noticed it was empty. "Wonder where she's gone?" deciding to go see the Deku Sprout, he headed to the meadow where it resided.

Link ran through the passage stopping just as he reached the final corner, someone was already talking to the sprout; someone whose voice he recognised straight away.

"It would be amazing to leave this place to see more of the world, don't get me wrong, I love it here but knowing there's so much more out there…" Saria sighed, "Link is so lucky to be able to go anywhere he wants."

"It has its ups and downs," Link interrupted sitting down next to her in front of the sprout who had been listening intently. "Why don't you join me? I kind of need your help."

Saria looked at him like he'd just grown an extra head. "Um did you forget that I can't go anywhere?"

"Saria my child…." the Deku Sprout spoke up, "actually you can leave this place. Link may I speak with Saria alone for a moment please?"

Link nodded getting up to leave.

"What do you mean by that?" Saria questioned giving the sprout her full attention.

"Being of the Sage bloodline you have powers strong enough to leave unlike most of the others who wouldn't survive for long out there. There is only one main consequence…"

"What's that?" Saria asked suspiciously.

"Once you set foot out of this forest, you will begin to age the same way Link has done. At first, it will be quite quickly so that you will catch up to the age you would be if you were Hylian which would be about twelve or thirteen I believe. After that you will grow normally like any other person out there."

Saria sat there looking stunned, in the space of five minutes she had learned that not only could she leave the Forest but she could also eventually become an adult.

"Now let me tell you what you can expect," the Deku Sprout carried on for the next hour filling the young girl in on most things she needed to know to begin with, the rest she would soon find out for herself.

After the long speech, Saria didn't know what to say. She finally had a chance to see the world, more importantly she had the chance to be with Link, to see him everyday, to grow with him, to- "Wait this is stupid, I can't-" she paused closing her eyes. The sprout could see she was thinking over her options.

Nori floated up to meet her eyes. "I'll always be with you no matter what path you choose," he smiled as she nodded in appreciation.

"I know what I have to do."

* * *

Link sat quietly by the little pond in the village waiting for Saria to be finished with the Deku Sprout. It felt like she would be in there forever when at last she emerged from the passageway looking very amused. 

"Fancy a travelling buddy?" she asked coming up to Link who beamed at her giving his friend a massive hug. She filled him in on some parts of the Deku Sprout's long but interesting speech such as the growing parts.

"Are you sure you want to give up being an eternal child?" he asked nervously hoping she wouldn't change her mind.

"I know it's a big decision to make but what's left for me here? I can still come back to visit whenever I need to so the temple can still be watched over."

Link nodded in understanding, then it was his turn to explain some things he had found the night before.

"So that's what all those noises were," Saria said after Link had told her everything. "They must have been waiting for you to turn up before properly introducing themselves."

"Yeah must've been," Link replied looking in the direction of the Lost Woods, "I'm still wondering if this is a trap or not, what if Ganondorf ordered them to carry out his plans if anything happened to him?"

"We'll never know sitting around here will we? If it is a trap we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it," Saria answered before going into her house to collect a few things. Link sat there shaking his head, it was usually her doing the worrying not him.

_The excitement of leaving the Forest must have warped her mind,_ he thought to himself standing to go get the weapons he'd left in his house.

* * *

Later that morning, Link was summoned by the Deku Sprout. Taking a seat on the ground in front of the sprout he waited for it to speak. 

"Ah, Link there you are!" it exclaimed, "I wanted to see you before you left. I'm not entirely happy about Saria leaving the Forest but I don't have the right to stop her either."

"What are you trying to say?" Link asked watching the tiny branches of the sprout slightly moving in the breeze.

"I'm saying that if anything happens to her, you will be sorry!"

Link swore he could hear thunder clapping as that sentence was said. The sprout began to laugh softly, Link rolled his eyes.

"It's times like these that I wish the Deku Tree was alive," he groaned.

"I **am** the Deku Tree!" the sprout yelled, "just smaller and better looking."

"You forgot the bad sense of humour part," Link added jumping up to leave before the sprout had anymore time to make an attempt at another joke.

"Farewell Link! Take care and come back to visit someday!"

* * *

"Gosh, how in all of Hyrule do you manage to carry so many things around with you?" Saria was struggling to decide what to take since she wasn't able to carry a lot. 

"I was the same when I started out until I met Zelda, she saw I'd need to hold a lot of weapons so she used a spell on some of my clothes. Now whenever I put something in one of my pockets or on my belt it shrinks then regains its natural size when I take it out. I'll ask her to help you out too."

"That's pretty useful," Saria smiled chucking her stuff at Link, "you can carry everything for now then."

"Yes ma'am," he grinned, "we should get going soon if we want to get to the market by nightfall."

"Ok, I'll meet you on the bridge in a few minutes, just need to see someone." Saria exited her house making her way over to Mido's. The self proclaimed Kokiri leader was laying on the large round stage in the back of his house.

"I heard you were leaving, news travels fast around this village, you should know that," the Kokiri said without even looking up. Saria sat on the edge of the stage.

"I thought I'd come say goodbye, you've been a jerk in the past but you've become much more reasonable lately."

"He better look after you," Mido sat up to face her, "or he'll have me to deal with."

Saria smiled, "I'll be sure to let him know. There's no need to worry, I'll have Nori with me anyway," she leaned over to give him a hug which he gratefully returned. "I'll see you soon," Saria finished then left in silence.

"Bye Saria, I'll miss you….and that Hylian punk." Mido whispered so no one but him would hear.

Link stood on the bridge in the Lost Woods which connected the Forest to the outside world. Most of the Kokiri avoided that place since the darkness of the woods scared them away, that and sometimes you could see a few deku scrubs and skullkids sneaking around in the long grass playing tricks on anyone who entered. Footsteps echoed behind him as Saria walked through the large stump onto the bridge.

"Thought you'd changed your mind for a second," Link held out his hand.

"Nope, I just had to say goodbye to Mido," She replied taking his hand. "He has a message for you."

"Oh really? What would that be?"

"He said he'd rip your face off if you let anything happen to me."

Link stopped walking trying to hold in his laughter. "He didn't say that. Did he?"

"No but it's a funny image," the two burst out laughing until they reached the second hollow stump.

"Are you ready?" Link asked for the last time.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Saria took a deep breath. This was the beginning of her new life which would never be the same again.


	2. Welcome to Hyrule

Author's note: This will be a quicker update than usual since I already had the chapter written in rough, so here it is.

* * *

Saria kept her eyes closed tightly as they walked out onto the Hylian planes. Seeing the bright light of the sun on her eyelids, she slowly opened them. The deep blue sky and blinding sun were so overwhelming for someone who had been used to the yellow mists of the Forest all of their life, and they hadn't even gotten past the walls that surrounded the entrance yet. Feeling a little dizzy, Saria sank to the ground. 

"Whoa, are you ok?" Link asked worriedly kneeling down beside her. Nori fluttered anxiously over her head giving some of his energy to her.

"Yeah I'm fine, the magic is a lot weaker out here that's all." Saria replied leaning against the giant stone wall behind her.

"I guess it takes time to get used to it, odd how it didn't happen to me though. Maybe that's because I never really was and never will be a true Kokiri…"

"You are inside and that's the only part that matters." Saria pushed herself up ready to go on. "Now, show me this famous field."

* * *

Zelda paced back and fourth on the drawbridge leading into the castle. She had requested to have it opened specially so the deliveries for the party could be made. Peering down the long dusty lane, she hoped something would be coming. 

"Where the heck are they?" As if to answer her question, a small wooden wagon rattled up the road stopping at the tall iron gate to sign in with the guard. Zelda hurried over to it when it arrived at the drawbridge.

"Why hello there Princess." A short chubby man jumped off the wagon giving Zelda a cheery wave, "did you come to collect the milk yourself today?"

"Good morning Talon, you know me, I'm not the kind of princess who sits inside all day letting her servants take care of her every need." Zelda smiled going over to help take out the milk and to check they had brought extra for the party the following day.

"Morning Princess Zelda!" Talon's daughter Malon leapt out of the wagon to join them, her long autumn red hair swung neatly tied in a ponytail behind her.

"Hello Malon nice to see you, oh and please, there's no need to call me 'Princess', Zelda will do just fine. I like what you've done with your hair."

"Thanks, I decided I needed something to keep it out of my face in the wind but I would never cut it." Zelda and Malon weren't exactly friends since Malon only came up now and again with her father to deliver the milk but the two always enjoyed chatting. Zelda was hoping to get to know the horse loving farm girl better at the party.

The girls grabbed the loose bottles left in the back of the wagon while Talon placed a large crate on a trolley used to move milk crates short distances. "Let's take the milk round to the kitchens." He grunted pushing the trolley around the moat to the side door that led down into the castle kitchens.

"So why's the drawbridge down? I assume it wasn't for our benefit." Malon quietly joked nearly dropping the bottle she was carrying.

"I'm expecting some more deliveries later today, since the milk and food which is coming later need to go straight into the kitchens there was no need for you to use the main entrance."

"Waiting for anything interesting to come?" Malon asked as they reached the door to the kitchens. Talon dragged the crate off the trolley ready for one of the servants to come collect it. Zelda knocked on the door and waited for one of the kitchen staff to open it.

"Not really, just a few decorations for the ballroom and dining room to liven the place up a little. Hey, why don't you stay over and give me a hand getting everything ready?"

"Sure, sounds like fun." Malon agreed excitedly, apart from a few random children in the market, Malon didn't get many chances to spend time with people her own age and she was also intrigued by Zelda's down-to-earth personality which was very unusual for a princess. A young dark-haired man opened the door after hearing the knocking from down in the servants' chambers. He wore the standard royal servant uniform of a shabby red tunic with the Hylian Royal family's crest sewn neatly on the left hand side.

"Morning Princess, I see you're here with this week's milk supplies. Let me take those bottles from you." He offered politely taking the bottles from both Zelda and Malon before nodding to Talon to acknowledge the crate.

"That reminds me, I told my father I'd settle your payment for the delivery this week." Zelda mumbled searching through her dress pockets for the correct amount of rupees the king had given her.

Talon chuckled lightly when Zelda handed him the rupees. "You could run this place all by yourself." Zelda blushed slightly, organising a party and sorting out the deliveries was one thing but running a country was something she still had a lot to learn about. Malon asked her dad if it was alright for her to stay at the castle that night, after he willingly agreed, the girls waved goodbye to him then sat on the grassy bank near the drawbridge to await the next arrivals.

* * *

"It's so beautiful." Saria stood in awe looking out into the vast land of Hyrule. She looked east to see the clear blue waters of Zora River and the huge Death Mountain sitting far off in the distance. She looked west to see a small ranch resting in the centre of the field. 

"Straight ahead is Hyrule Castle Town, it's too far away to see right now though." Link informed, he then pointed in each direction telling her what places were located there.

"It's going to take us ages to get there at this rate." Saria said looking in the direction of the castle sadly.

Link grinned taking out his ocarina, "not when you have a ride." Playing a song Saria had never heard, Link waited for a second before the galloping of hooves could be heard. As quickly as the song had been played, a medium sized chestnut red horse ran up to him nuzzling his face. "Take it easy girl." He laughed patting the horse's nose gently. Saria kept her distance staring at the animal in fascination. "Come on over Saria, don't be shy, Epona won't hurt you."

Saria slowly edged her way towards to horse, reaching out a hand she gave Epona a quick pat on the head then took her hand away. Epona shook her head up in agreement and moved towards Saria wanting more. Seeing a flying ball of light hovering above her, the horse tried to take a bite out of it.

"Eep!" Nori squeaked dashing onto Saria's head who couldn't help giggling.

"I knew she'd like you, you didn't even have to play her song." Link smiled watching Epona nuzzling Saria's hand playfully. Saria suddenly looked up at Link frowning. "Uh what's wrong?" He asked nervously not liking the look on her face.

"Speaking of songs, what have you done with the Fairy Ocarina I spent ages making for you?" Link gulped realising he'd been using the Ocarina of Time ever since he'd found it in the moat on the night Zelda had thrown it for him. He fidgeted around in his tunic pockets trying to find it. Luckily, it was tucked safely into the chest pocket.

"I keep it in here close to my heart." Link said swiftly taking the instrument out to show her. Saria knew he hadn't put it there with that thought in mind but it was nice all the same.

"I'll let you off this time, only because you're you." She took the ocarina from him to take a closer look, it looked as good as it had done when she first gave it to him on that bridge nearly three years ago.

"Well thank Farore for being me." Link sighed with relief taking his ocarina back from his friend then mounting Epona. Holding out a hand he motioned for Saria to get on behind him. "Hold on tight!" Link shouted as Epona began a calm trot which suddenly turned to a full blown gallop

"Is this safe?" Saria yelled into Link's back holding on for her life.

"Of course it is, you're with me aren't you?" He replied confidently turning to look at her, "we should be there a little before evening at this pace."

* * *

Malon was standing in the elegant royal ballroom admiring the décor. The room was lined with expensive gold tiles with a matching golden floor which sparkled in the light. At the front of the room was a small stage where a deep red carpet rolled down its steps onto the dance floor. While waiting for Zelda to change into something more suited for working, Malon took the opportunity to test out the floor. 

"Tra la la la la." She sang as she expertly performed a series of jumps and spins along the tiles. Stopping to take a breath, she heard clapping coming from the door. Zelda entered the room looking totally different than the public normally saw her, wearing sky blue leggings and a light pink long sleeved top, Malon thought she looked like a regular Hylian girl.

"That was pretty impressive." Zelda complimented her, "where did you learn to move like that?"

It was Malon's turn to blush now, "My mom taught me before she passed away. I used to hate dancing after that but I came to accept she was gone and would want me to be happy so I carried on practising."

"I never got to meet my mom….she died in childbirth." Zelda wiped away a tear as she thought about all the pictures she'd seen of the mother who only existed in stories to her.

"Oh Zelda I'm sorry, I knew the queen had died but I didn't know it was like that. I wouldn't have brought it up if I'd realised." Malon felt suddenly uncomfortable which Zelda saw straight away.

"It's ok, although I never actually got to meet her, my father told me many stories about what a great person she was, he says I get more and more like her everyday and I have Impa who although isn't biologically related to me feels like a member of the family. Anyway enough of that, let's get this place looking amazing!"

* * *

After most of the shop owners had packed away for the night, packs of stray dogs roamed the cobbled streets of Hyrule Market searching for scraps of anything they could find. Castle guards stood at each of the entrances watching out for anyone up to no good. Outside the market by the large drawbridge that was about to close in a few minutes, Epona came to a stop throwing her head up to show she knew they were there. Link slid off the horse while Saria tumbled off headfirst. 

"I won't be doing that again in a hurry." She jumped up dusting herself off.

"You'll get used to it, we'll have to get Malon to give you some proper lessons, starting with dismounting." He began to laugh which resulted in him getting a whack on the arm. Suddenly stopping, Link gave Saria a puzzled look. "Did you grow? I was sure you were only as tall as my shoulders but now you're up to at least my chin."

Saria glanced at Link then at herself. "The Deku Sprout said I'd grow quite quickly to catch up with my Hylian age, didn't realise it would be this fast."

Entering the market just in the time, the pair got to see the gate guard closing the drawbridge for the night to stop the wandering stalchildren from entering.

"Travelling rule number two - whenever you reach a town look for a decent inn." Link headed down one of the market alleys where an inn ran by an excitable woman named Clara he stayed in now and again was located.

"Rule number two? What's number one?" Saria asked trying to keep up with him.

"Wear sturdy walking shoes of course." Link replied as if it was an obvious thing then paused to tap his shoes on the ground. "Hmm these are a little worn, time for some shopping tomorrow I think. You could do with some new ones too." He pointed at her green Kokiri lace up boots.

"What's wrong with them?"

"They must be about eight decades old by now." Link knocked on the inn door.

"They are not! They're ten decades old actually." Saria corrected him sticking her tongue out.

"Thus proving my point." A jolly round woman opened the door to greet the two happily welcoming them in. The inside was humbly furnished with comfortable armchairs accompanied by a warm crackling fire in the corner of the room giving it a family feel. An elderly Hylian man sat in one of the chairs drinking freshly brewed tea while enjoying the warmth of the flames. Looking up, he gave the new guests a friendly wave.

"Hello there Mr Link!" The woman exclaimed in a foreign accent rarely heard in Hyrule, "I see you have found yourself a girlfriend and a very pretty one at that." She chuckled bustling about behind a desk searching for room keys.

"Erm she's a friend that's a girl but it's nothing more." Link blushed hoping the floor would swallow him whole right about now.

"Yes yes! You will be wanting a double room then?"

"One room with **two** beds." Link put emphasis on the word two to make sure the woman heard what he wanted.

"Yes yes! I have one of those, please follow me!" She moved clumsily around the desk sending a plant pot smashing to the floor causing damp soil to splatter all over Link.

"Don't say a word." He warned Saria who was making an effort not to giggle. Clambering up the stairs, he went to their room to get cleaned up. Giving Link some privacy to change, Saria took a seat in the living room where the old man was still sipping his tea.

"Evening young lady." He smiled watching her sit opposite him on a long sofa. "Would you like some tea?" He offered reaching for the silver kettle sitting on a table next to him. Never having tasted Hylian tea before, Saria accepted his offer carefully pouring a cup for herself

"Mm this is very good." She took a sip sitting back down again.

"Sure is." The man agreed, "So have you travelled far to reach here?" He asked genuinely interested seeing as the girl didn't wear the usual Hylian garments and the fairy sitting on her shoulder was a giveaway.

"You could say that." Saria answered as Link returned from freshening up in a clean tunic, taking some tea for himself he took a seat next to her.

"Back in the day you would never see anyone of another race around here, of course, that was thanks to that scum Ganondorf. I heard he mysteriously disappeared a few years ago, good riddance if you ask me!" The man rambled angrily on until Saria dropped her cup spilling tea all over the rug. Standing up, she ran out of the room holding her head in pain.

"Saria!" Link yelled as she vanished up the stairs, placing his own cup on the table, he dashed off after her.

"Was it something I said?" The man asked to an empty room.

* * *

"There, finished!" Zelda announced as she put the last balloon in place. Taking a step back, the girls admired their hard work. Colourful balloons and streamers hung all around the room, but the main attraction was a large gold and silver banner covering the high part of the walls at the front of room which read 'Happy Birthday' in sparkling letters that Zelda had cut and stuck on herself. 

"A job well done by the amazing duo of Princess Zelda future ruler of Hyrule and Malon the world famous horse rider!" Malon did a little victory dance.

"It must be nice to plan your own future." Zelda sighed chucking the loose packages the decorations came in into some boxes.

"No one's future is written in stone you know." Malon tried to console her new friend.

"Oh mine is. No, seriously it is." Zelda saw the confused look on Malon's face. "My father had a will engraved in stone that if anything should happen to him I shall be the new ruler."

"Wow, way to take an old saying and totally mess it up."

Impa appeared in the doorway to collect the girls for the evening meal. "I'm impressed, this all looks lovely." The Sheikah commented on their handy work.

"Thank you Impa." Zelda smiled putting a stepladder to lean near one of the walls, "did you need us for something?"

"I came to tell you food is being served now, after it we should go and pick out a dress for Malon to wear at the party tomorrow, I assume you already have yours ready?"

"I get a dress?" Malon asked curiously.

"No offence Malon but you can't turn up looking like that." Zelda looked the farm girl up and down, she was wearing her usual working overalls which were great for normal days but wouldn't do tomorrow.

"Hmm yeah I guess you're right, I have one or two dresses back home but if you don't mind me borrowing one."

"No of course I don't, now come on let's eat." Zelda grabbed Malon by the arm dragging her to the dining room.

Pushing open the old oak double doors, Malon gaped at the massive dining room. A long wooden table took up the main portion of the floor, chandeliers hung from the ceiling magically lit to illuminate the place in yellow light. The table itself was covered with various dishes the chefs had prepared earlier that day. Malon wiped her hands nervously on her overalls tapping Zelda on the shoulder.

"I can't eat with the royal family looking like this!" Zelda couldn't help laughing.

"It's ok Malon, it will only be us and Impa this evening, Father has gone out on business and won't be back until later. Besides, we never dress formally for dinner unless we have guests from another country."

Feeling a little more at ease, Malon took a seat next to Zelda waiting for the meal to begin. A servant entered the room followed by Impa who was carrying the party checklist. The servant placed some cutlery on the table, bowed then left. Zelda lifted the lid of one of the dishes.

"Ah good, Bella cooked my favourite meal tonight, ever tried Octorok Stew Malon?"

Malon peered into the bowl catching glimpses of what she assumed were pieces of octorok. "Only once or twice since we don't get many octoroks around the ranch due to the fact we live nowhere near the lake."

"Father usually brings some back when we go on visits to Lake Hylia or the Zoras send them as gifts when King Zora and Princess Ruto come over for meetings." Zelda explained while filling a spoon full of stew to put in her own dish dripping some on the tablecloth. "Oops, this is why we don't have stew when other royals come over, I always end up spilling some." Zelda could hear Impa's muffled laughter coming from behind the party list

"At least I wasn't the one who tripped over their own shoes landing face first in her birthday cake last year." Zelda said loudly, smirking wickedly like a teenage daughter would.

"You know I had a bad leg that day." Impa countered before the two started laughing, Malon joined in too so she wouldn't feel left out. "Anyway, I was just checking over your list." Impa continued, "everything seems to be ready now."

"That's great, it means we have most of tomorrow to ourselves. Fancy a bit of shopping Malon?"

"Love to, we can pick up some last minute things for tomorrow night." Malon suggested chewing forcefully on a piece of octorok meat.

* * *

Saria sat huddled on her bed staring at a blank spot on the wall. Her face had drained of its usual colour worrying Link even more when he entered the room. Sitting next to her he put an arm around her shoulders. 

"What happened back there?"

"I saw him." She answered barely audible. "I saw bodies of innocent people laying mangled in the dirt of the market. He was stood laughing over them all, evil yellow eyes gleaming with triumph."

"You saw Ganondorf in the market? That must have been the time when he ruled over Hyrule during my seven year sleep, but that's in another timeline, only me and Zelda remember, unless it's something to do with you being a Sage. I'll ask her tomorrow."

"I only saw one scene of that place but it was enough. How do you deal with it? You must have seen so much cruelty, so much pain." She shuddered picturing the bodies again. The average Kokiri had never seen a corpse or much suffering before, seeing a whole market full of them in a minute wasn't easy to take in.

"You learn to cope with it. The market was an awful place during those times but it was nothing compared to the Shadow Temple. The voices, the shadows, the never ending darkness that sucked out every inch of hope my soul had." He went on to talk about the redeads, mummies, wall masters and other hideous things that lurked in the temple. Saria had heard the story before but this time she realised something she hadn't seen until now, Link may be a child on the outside but inside, he had become a man who had experienced more trials than most men would ever experience in their entire lives. "I was Hyrule's final chance, if I had cracked under the pressure none of us would be here." Link finished, one of his fists clenched tightly in anger.

"You've grown so much." Saria smiled flicking a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. "We should get some sleep, big day tomorrow." Sliding off the bed ,she kissed him on the cheek. Link put his hand to his face returning the smile watching her leave the room to apologise for the mess on the rug.

Morning came too soon for the residents of Castle Town when the sun rose over the peeks of Death Mountain bringing with it a new day. Market traders unpacked their stalls or opened their shops ready for the early customers.

Link rolled over in bed sleepily opening his eyes to find the sun streaming in through the curtains. Looking over at the bed opposite his own, he noticed it was empty. Pushing the covers off, he quickly put on his boots and headed downstairs to find Saria happily munching on a cooked breakfast in the kitchen. Nori as usual was sitting faithfully at her side, Link had noticed the talkative fairy had been very quiet lately.

"Morning birthday boy." She waved. Link stifled a yawn sitting at the table next to her. "Some things never change, I'll give you your present later if that's ok."

Link nodded still half asleep pulling a plate towards himself.

"I hear it's somebody's birthday today!" A loud voice screeched through the house, Clara bounced into the kitchen carrying what looked like a wilted plant. "I have a present for you!" She shoved the plant in his lap, "isn't it pretty?"

"It certainly is something." Link stared at the thing stuffing it in one of his pockets managing to seem slightly thankful for it.

After eating, the pair left the inn going into the market to buy some new shoes. Link stopped to tie a loose lace leaving Saria to wander into the now crowded market. Not watching where she was walking, she nearly tripped over someone sitting on the ground

"Please sell me something with C." A beggar on the floor pleaded flailing his arms in the air. Never having seen a homeless person before, Saria jumped back in shock, turning around a group of them appeared behind her clawing for anything they could grab.

"Back off!" Link growled tossing a deku nut into the cluster of desperate people. Blinded by the flash, the beggars disappeared back down the alleys they crawled out of.

"What's C?" Saria asked an annoyed Link.

"I have no idea, whatever it is, he has no reason to be there nagging for things to buy on the street. If he has so much money he should get himself a decent house." He pointed her in the direction of the clothes and shoe shop while he popped into the Shooting Gallery to make some extra rupees.

* * *

Zelda wrapped a blue Sheikah cloak tightly around herself glancing in the mirror to make sure it looked convincing. Over the last few years, Impa had been teaching her the secret combat skills of the Sheikah. Since there was no threat of danger, the training hadn't been as rushed as it had been back in Ganondorf's days so Zelda wasn't quite ready to be able to transform into her alter ego Sheik yet. For now, she had to make do with a long cloak disguise which she wasn't allowed to wear often in case people got suspicious of who she really was. Pulling the hood down over her face, she patiently waited for Malon on the castle steps. 

The girls entered the market unnoticed with ease, taking a brief look around, a small clothes shop caught Malon's eye. Clutching Zelda's arm she dragged her friend into the shop. Inside was warm and welcoming. Clothes of every colour hung neatly around the room lined with fine pine panelled walls to create the warming feel. Bustling into the sea of clothes, Malon emerged with a yellow woollen scarf perfect for those cold days working on the ranch. Noticing the owner was busy with another customer, the girls took a seat on the ledge near the window where a manikin robed in expensive dinner clothes stared out into the crowded streets. However, there was someone else also sitting on that ledge who shifted over a little to make room for them.

Running her fingers through the scarf, Malon lost herself in its softness. Being the polite young lady she was, she turned to say hello to other the person realising she was wearing clothes she'd seen before. Taking another look she remembered where she knew them from.

"Are you from the Forest?" She blurted out forgetting all about manners in an instant. The girl had a comfortable aura about her and the emerald-coloured hair intrigued Malon even more.

Not expecting to be spoken to, Saria gave Malon a smile nodding her head. "That's right. I guess the clothes and Nori here are a giveaway. I'm Saria nice to meet you." She held out her hand for the shocked Malon who shook her head then excitedly took Saria's hand shaking it vigorously.

"Saria, Link's best friend Saria right? My name's Malon from Lon Lon Ranch. I'm a good friend of Link's, he told me Kokiri couldn't leave the forest though so how are you here?"

"Let's just say I'm a rare exception." Saria made a very long story short for the time being, a local shop was no place to be telling stories like hers.

All the while Malon and Saria were getting to know each other, Zelda sat huddled in her cloak. The mental wheels in her head were spinning faster and faster after each word was spoken. Her worst fears had come true, the girl Link would always talk so dearly about had somehow left her home and by the looks of it she was growing up into nothing less than an attractive young woman. It was obvious to her even if they didn't know it themselves what was going to happen. They'd end up falling in love, leaving her back where she started; just when she thought she had a chance to be with Link, this had to happen.

Wiping away a single tear, Zelda stood up whispering for Malon to hurry up with paying for the scarf. Saria watched the two leave not having a clue who the hooded figure was, but she gave them a wave anyway which Malon happily returned.

Link entered shortly after carrying a bag of rupees ready to pick out some new shoes. Saria filled him in on her meeting with Malon and the cloaked person. Sitting down next to her, he scratched his head thinking who it could have been.

"Oh, I remember, Zelda likes to wear a cloak when she goes out without Impa or any guards." He said in a low voice not to attract attention to the idea that the princess was out alone.

"She seemed distraught seeing me. I don't think she likes me."

"Don't be daft, how could anyone not like you? You're so kind and caring, besides, Zelda probably had a lot on her mind. That brain of hers is always working overtime." Link shrugged it off leading Saria to the travelling boots section where they both picked out a pair of boots similar to the ones they already had. Saria used the excuse that she needed green boots not to break the trend which Link rolled his eyes at, but didn't stop her if she was happy. Not knowing what weather in other countries would be like, Link took a glance at the jackets spying some Hylian mountain fleeces made especially for the hardcore traveller. The material was an unknown type to Link but it felt so soft in his hands. Slipping a dark red one off its hanger, he tried it on admiring himself in one of the shop's full length mirrors.

"It suits you." Saria smiled coming over carrying their new boots in a bag the owner had given her. Going back into the row of coats, Link found a few more of the same design, thinking Saria would need one too he picked out a forest green one not to break her 'trend'. Insisting she try it on, Link went to pay for them telling her the cost didn't matter.

Stepping out into the daytime sun, they caught a glimpse of Zelda and Malon strolling into the Bombchu Bowling Alley. Deciding not to bother them at that time, they made their way back to the inn for some lunch. Link had a feeling the night ahead was going to be a very eventful one.


	3. Happy Birthday?

Link shoved all his belongings in a small bag fighting with the zip to do it up. Slipping it into one of his pockets, he turned to Saria who was silently staring out of their room window into the bustling market below.

"Are you going to pack?" He asked breaking the silence.

Saria turned her head wondering what he was doing, weren't they coming back to the inn after the party?

"I don't think I'm invited." She mumbled grabbing her stuff from the floor tossing it at Link for him to put away.

"Hey, it's my party I can have whoever I want at it, you can be my VIP." Link grinned tucking her bag neatly away in his tunic. "But first I want my present." He gave her that lost puppy dog look he would always use when he wanted something back in the forest.

Taking out a small parcel, Saria placed it on the bed. Slightly saddened, she realised it probably wasn't much compared to the gifts he'd be getting from the various princesses he knew, but in the end it's the thought that counts, right? Eagerly opening it, Link marvelled at what he saw. A carefully crafted mini version of the Kokiri Sword crossed in front of the Deku Shield shaped into a broach, holding it up to the light, Link saw the tiny red stone set in the handle of the sword sparkle delicately.

"Wow, did you make this? He gave her a grateful smile clipping it proudly to his shirt.

Attempting to stop herself from blushing, Saria returned the smile. "It's amazing what bits and pieces you can find laying about the Forest Temple."

Pulling her into a hug, Link thanked her for the present promising he'd wear it all the time to remind him of how his very first adventure began.

After checking out of the inn, Link and Saria wandered around the market for awhile to pass the time before they had to head up to the castle. Stopping by the Potion Shop to stock up on supplies, Link asked Saria to wait by the door for him, but a funny looking building nearby caught her eye. Seeing it was only next door, she decided to take a peek inside. Pushing open the wooden door, the Kokiri girl was greeted by a strange sight. Masks lined all of the shelves, big, small, multicoloured, every mask imaginable had its own place in that shop. Stepping in further, Saria walked up to the large notice board sitting near the front desk.

"Hello there young lady." A mysterious voice drifted from behind the counter. Saria quickly turned around to see a slim man dressed in strange purple clothing, she couldn't tell if his creepy face was real or just a mask. "I have travelled far and wide to bring the people of Hyrule all of these wonderful masks, it has taken years to expand this business to what it is today." Glancing behind the counter, Saria stared at the variety of masks, each had a label in front of it telling customers what type it was. She recognised a few remembering the different races Link had told her about, Zora, Goron, Gerudo and many more. However, there was one in particular which caught her eye. It was securely chained to the wall, its large leering yellow and orange eyes glared right into her soul.

"Majora's Mask…" She whispered shuddering at the story Link had told her about the trouble it had caused the people of Termina. Luckily Link had destroyed the evil spirit that lurked within the mask. The salesman followed her stare nodding when he realised what she was looking at.

"Ah yes, that one is a tricky little fellow. A young customer of mine managed to save that mask for me but I must keep it chained up for safety reasons you understand. Even without the spirits living in it, no one can be sure what havoc could begin if in the wrong hands."

Leaving the Potion Shop, Link scratched his head hoping Saria hadn't gone far. Seeing the Happy Mask Shop's door slightly open, he suspected the fancy exterior of the building had attracted his friend to it. His suspicions were answered when he saw her browsing a shelf of masks. Grabbing her arm, he dragged her outside slamming the door after them.

"What did you do that for?" Saria asked rubbing her arm from where he'd gripped it tightly.

"You don't want to get involved with that place, the salesman has a funny way of making you do things for him." Link answered swiftly changing the subject of conversation.

* * *

Zelda sat by one of the castle's many windows surveying the evening activities. Not long after she'd sat down, Impa popped her head around the door to let her know the first of the guests were now arriving. Standing up, Zelda made sure her royal pink dress was in place then followed Impa to greet the guests. 

Malon stood awkwardly in the ballroom wearing one of Zelda's elegant yellow summer dresses which suited her nicely. Sitting by one of the small tables Zelda had set out for those who didn't want to move about all the time, she sighed leaning an elbow lazily on it. Thinking back on the day's events, she thought about meeting Saria, she appeared to be a nice girl, someone who must have had a lot of influence in Link's life in the past and even in the present. Malon hoped she'd get to talk to her again soon.

Zelda hurried to the drawbridge where she caught sight of Princess Ruto being escorted up the lane by two Zora guards.

"Is Link here yet?" Ruto pressed waving her guards to go on in without her, Zelda subtly rolled her eyes briefly smiling at the Zora Princess.

"Nope not yet Ruto but he shouldn't be long, you should go in out of this draft." She advised gesturing for the Zora to follow Impa to the ballroom. A few minutes later, most of the guests had arrived, Darunia with some Goron friends, Nabooru with a couple of women from the Gerudos, Talon and Ingo and finally a rather big crowd of people from the market. Zelda tried to count them all but was sure she'd let some slip through without checking who they were.

Link and Saria ran up the lane towards the castle, Saria nearly bumping into Link when he stopped to shuffle his belt around.

"Do I look ok?" Saria asked self-consciously, she was quite nervous at the thought of so many people in one place but didn't show it too much.

"Of course, you look lovely." Link stated taking her hand.

Zelda spotted the pair coming up the path, it was time to truly meet this Saria in person properly.

"Happy Birthday Link!" She squealed giving him a friendly hug.

"Thanks Zelda." He replied thinking her hug was too forced for his liking. Putting an arm around Saria, Link pulled her to his side. "I'd like you to meet Saria, my best and lifelong friend."

Zelda put on a smile holding out a hand which Saria politely shook. "Pleased to meet you at last."

"Same to you, even though we met in the market and you ignored me." Saria smiled innocently back. Link smirked, he loved how Saria was so brutally honest with people, he'd have to teach her about using tact in the future though, because Zelda looked taken aback thinking it was meant as a snide comment. Shaking it off, she led them to the party ordering one of the guards to close the drawbridge until things were over.

Entering the ballroom, Saria gasped at the immense crowd of people who, as soon as they saw Link uttered birthday greetings. The people who knew him better crowded around eager to give him their gifts. Saria felt happy that Link had so many friends now but at the same time she felt pushed out, did he even really need her anymore?

Settling himself by a table, Link gratefully accepted his gifts. Malon presented him with a brand new top of the line horse saddle, very handy for riding Epona on those long adventures. Ruto pushed through the group to give Link a bag of fish all caught by herself which were now packed into ice she'd gone and hand collected also by herself in the Ice Cavern.

"They'll stay fresh extra long in that ice so you can use them up when you camp on your next journey, maybe we could go camping together sometime." She winked kissing him square on the lips. Wiping his mouth vigorously when she turned away, he put the fish next to his other gifts.

Nabooru strolled over handing him a fine Gerudo warrior spear used by many of her tribe for combat training and killing wild monsters.

"Use these to keep you warm at night Brother." Darunia chuckled giving Link his gift. Link raised a brow as he opened a pair of white pyjamas with little Gorons dotted here and there on them.

Next was Impa who silently slipped a few Sheikah throwing stars into his hands informing him to use them carefully. Thanking them all kindly for his presents, Link got up to stretch his legs, looking around he noticed Saria had disappeared. "Must have mingled into the crowd." He thought heading to the food table for a bite to eat.

Zelda finally caught up to him tugging on his arm. "Link will you come into the hall for a second? I'd like to speak with you." Stuffing some food into his pocket, he followed the princess out of the room.

Meanwhile, Saria had indeed mingled with the crowd but not of her own choice. A gang of kids from the back alleys of the market had somehow gotten into the party and were very interested in her. Questions such as 'Are you from the Forest?' and 'Is that a fairy?' were being thrown at her by the minute.

"Leave her alone!" Ruto snapped swiping the kids away with a fin. She knew Saria was a good friend of Link's and wanted to find out more about her and maybe find out more about Link in the process. "I don't know what scum like that are doing here. Anyway, I'm Ruto and you're Saria." She led Saria over to the banquet table insisting she try some blue tektite legs. Taking a bite, Saria was the one who turned blue.

"Oh well, they're not to everyone's taste. Now, tell me more about Link." Ruto said piling up a plate of seafood for herself.

Back in the hallway, Link could see that Zelda looked extremely nervous. "Here I hope you like it." She said handing him her present. Carefully opening the wrapping, Link revealed a small dagger which had a short golden handle. Upon the handle was carved a neat picture of the Triforce itself.

"This is great, I'm sure it will be useful sooner or later." Link smiled putting it away in his tunic.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you." Zelda continued, her confidence gradually building after each word. "I was wondering if you'd made a decision about living here?"

With everything that had been happening lately, Link had forgotten about Zelda's question but he already knew what he was going to say. "Zelda you know I can't do that even if I wanted, I've got responsibilities elsewhere."

Silently nodding her head, Zelda tried not to show her disappointment. "I understand." She smiled, gently touching his arm before re-entering the ballroom to prepare for her speech. "I'll always be here if you need me."

Sighing heavily, Link went back into the ballroom himself. He spied Saria standing by the newly set up pictograph stand where a professional was taking pictures of guests at the party. Sneaking up behind her, Link pushed her on to the seat sliding on next to her.

"Smile kids." The man grinned as he set up the pictobox. Not having a clue what this thing was, Saria just copied Link feeling warmer when he put an arm around her. "All done." The man said taking the picture out of the box, holding a pen, he wrote something small in the bottom right corner of the picture.

"Oh it's like those pictures in that book." Saria smiled looking at theirs with Link, turning her attention to the writing, she blushed at what it said '_Cute Couple'. _Ruto peeked over Link's shoulder to see what they were admiring.

"Hmm I wonder if I could get '_Meant to be' _written on a picture of me and Link." Hearing Ruto say that, Link shuffled off into the crowd with Saria leaving the Zora princess alone with her dreams.

Picking up a glass, Zelda gave it a short tap to get everyone's attention. Moving up on to the stage, she began to speak. "Now we know why we're all here, to wish Link, Hyrule's hero a happy birthday!" Her calm voice rang out over the crowd. "Without this incredible boy we probably wouldn't be here now." Zelda pulled him out from the crowd to stand next to her, Link really didn't want to be showcased like this even if Zelda did mean well. "So let's all-"

"This is a joke!" A voice interrupted Zelda mid sentence, narrowing her eyes, she saw the culprit, a cocky looking kid from the market. "The princess has got a crush on this average boy so she makes up some stupid story to make him look worthy of royalty when in reality he's nothing special at all!"

"What did you say?" Ruto screeched smashing her empty plate over the kid's head which led to his friends starting a fight with the rest of the room. Squeezing his eyes shut, Link ran through the crowd to the main door, he couldn't handle this anymore.

Impa grabbed two of the boys by their shirts demanding that they leave at once or be arrested. Calling some guards, she swiftly dealt with the problem making sure nobody else got hurt.

Zelda fell to the carpet in tears, it wasn't meant to turn out like this at all. Link probably hated her now that she had publicly humiliated him. Wiping away another tear, she stood up walking over to Saria and Malon who happened to be the only people left in the room since everyone had left in a hurry. Malon placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder while Saria felt a little out of place, she hardly knew these girls but didn't have anywhere else to go.

"Link hates me." Zelda whispered staring at the floor.

"Link most likely hates himself if anyone." Saria could see Zelda felt terrible about the whole incident.

Thankful for the support, Zelda gave her a smile which became a yell for Impa when Saria suddenly fell to the floor, her hands over her head again. Flashes of a gigantic dark castle flew through her mind, fire, monsters, storms, a green barrier pushing her back.

"Saria!" Both Zelda and Malon shouted worried that she'd passed out. Impa rushed to their side when she heard Zelda calling.

"Let's get her to a bed." Impa suggested moving to pick the girl up.

"No, I'm ok." Saria tiredly mumbled opening her eyes. Her face had instantly paled from the fright causing her body to shake. Being helped up by Impa, Saria rubbed her eyes hoping Link hadn't gone far.

* * *

He ran through the market shoving through a group of people chatting near the entrance. Staring at the sky, he groaned when a large grey cloud appeared above him; the weather described his mood perfectly. Playing Epona's song, he patiently waited for the horse to arrive glad to see someone who wouldn't answer back. Mounting Epona, he directed her to Lake Hylia, his favourite place to sit and think in peace. 

The rain soon began to pour down bringing heavy thunder with it. Link ignored this sitting on the damp grassy bank near the lake. Those words kept echoing trough his head '_he's nothing special at all!_' All of his life he had been told this by Mido, if it hadn't been for Saria he probably would have started to believe it. Thinking more about it, he wondered if he had never been chosen by destiny to do all those country saving tasks would Zelda even know who he was? Saria had always been around for him, never judged him for being different, her face would always light up when she saw him. Why was he thinking about Saria so much all of a sudden? Was it because now he was allowed to? Allowed to think of her as more than a friend? Jumping up, he realised he'd left her on her own back at the castle. First day out of the forest and he'd already abandoned her. What a great start.

* * *

After Zelda had seen Malon and her dad off home, she and Saria sat talking in one of the castle's many sitting rooms. It was plain to the princess that there was more to Saria leaving the forest than she was letting on. No Kokiri would give up eternal youth just to tidy up a temple even if they were destined to be the guardian of it. 

"I hope he hasn't gone far," Zelda sighed playing with the tassels on the chair she was sitting on.

Saria silently nodded staring out one of the windows into the night. She understood why he had ran off but was a little annoyed that he'd left her in the castle with people she hardly knew. This jolted her thoughts about if she was really needed by him anymore.

Another ten minutes of silence passed before a drenched Link stumbled in through the door.

"Link…" Zelda stood up but was stopped by him putting a hand up.

"It's okay Zelda, I know you didn't intend for the party to turn out that way. It was good of you to set it all up for me." He turned his attention to Saria who gave him a weak smile.

Deciding they should call it a night, Zelda directed them to the guest rooms before retiring to her own quarters. On the way to the rooms, not a word was spoken between the two friends. Link began to wonder if Saria was annoyed with him for running off like he had done. After years of communicating with her via the ocarina, he had learned to enter her mind without the use of the song, but Link had only done it once or twice not too sure if Saria even knew he could do it. Playing out the song in his mind, he concentrated carefully attempting to open a link with her, a moment later he could slightly feel a connection. A sea of confusion and doubt appeared before him, images of the black past drifted through her mind. Suddenly it all went hazy, the link evaporated.

"Link, please don't do that." Saria said quietly hoping he hadn't seen anything too personal.

"Huh? You knew about that?" He asked a little ashamed for invading her private thoughts.

"Of course I'd know when someone was in my own head." She smirked. "It is a good way to talk without anyone knowing but make sure to ask next time. You might see something you don't like." That said, she reached her room, waving goodnight before gently closing the door. Link stood there dumbfounded, what did she mean 'might see something you don't like'? Shrugging it off for now, he headed to his own room which was next door.

Saria flopped down on the large double bed, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling, she sighed deeply.

"Is something wrong?" Nori hovered over her, a worried expression etched on his tiny face.

"I don't know." Saria mumbled taking out the picture of herself and Link from the party. She smiled; he was the most amazing person she'd ever known. His caring personality, his unique ability to always cheer her up when she was down, his gentle smile. But, lately he had been down a lot, he seemed lonely. "Why am I suddenly commenting on his looks?" She said aloud not realising Nori was staring at her. Rolling off the bed, she headed for the door. "I need some air, stay here okay?" Watching her swiftly close the door, Nori groaned, now he was locked in the room. Fluttering over to one of the large windows, he caught a glimpse of his charge wandering around the grounds in front of the castle.

* * *

It had been a funny couple of days. First finding she could leave the forest, setting out on some crazy quest just for a temple. But, thinking more into it she knew she hadn't left just because of that. Ever since that day when he had left the first time she had known she wanted more than the life she had been living for so long. She wanted to see the world even if that meant sacrificing her previous life. But she knew it was more than that, she knew she wasn't like the other Kokiri, she had always had strong feelings for him and now she knew what they were. 

_I can't feel like this. He's my best friend, anything more would surely ruin this friendship._

Slipping into deeper thoughts, Saria didn't notice she was still walking, turning the corner of the lane leading to the castle, she entered the market.

Still watching from the window, Nori panicked when she disappeared out of sight, anything could happen this time of night. Quickly scanning the room, he saw the door had a small gap beneath it, if he could just squeeze through he would be able to warn Link.

After a minor struggle, the fairy managed to exit the room. Flying to the next door, he groaned when it was closed but luckily there was another small gap. Looking up from his bed Link wondered what was going on when he saw Nori flutter in under the door.

"Something wrong?" He asked slightly yawning.

"I'm worried about Saria, she said she was going out for some air but has wandered into the market." Link knew the market wasn't a very dangerous place at night but there were occasions when the odd drunk would cause an uproar or one of the shops was broken into. Grabbing his sword, Link threw open the door slamming it behind him leaving poor Nori locked in again.

Running through the castle grounds, Link leapt off the hillside heading into the market.

She continued to walk totally lost in thought until she realised where she was. Turning around, she bumped straight into a large sweaty man who appeared to be losing his balance. "What's a pretty young thing like you doing out at this hour?" He slurred out hiccupping in between.

"I'm sorry." Saria said genuinely then carried on walking but was stopped when the man forcefully grabbed her arm.

"Why don't you stay with me for a bit cutie?" The man made a bad attempt at a wink not even noticing the terrified look on Saria's face.

"Get your filthy hand off her!" Link charged over to them, anger building inside him every second he saw that scum with his hand around hers.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend." The drunk said spitting saliva that rained down over Saria's face.

Link was desperate to snap, drawing his sword he pointed it in front of him. "Just get out of it." He ordered not intending to actually use the weapon.

Deciding the fuss wasn't worth it, the drunk let go of Saria and stumbled off into the night. "Crazy kid." He mumbled tripping over some loose rubbish in the street. Saria rubbed her arm from the grip shaking slightly. Sheathing the sword, Link moved closer pulling her into a hug.

"Don't scare me like that." He whispered softly. Saria buried her face in his shoulder, she hated to admit it, but this new world was a little scary for her. Clinging to Link, she tried to hold back the tears. Taking a step back, he looked down at her catching a loose tear trickling down her face. The two remained in that position for a moment, the rest of the world blurred out.

_She's so beautiful._ Link thought to himself with his hands still around her waist. He felt a sudden urge to be closer to her, their faces were inches apart….

"There you are!" Nori shrieked flying into view. They immediately broke apart, the moment was gone. "Never do that again!" He shouted frantically at Saria.

"The moth speaks at last." Link grinned receiving a bonk on the head from the annoyed fairy.

"Let's all get some sleep." Saria smiled glad to see Nori acting like his usual self again. Taking Link's hand, they made their way back to the castle.

* * *

"What exactly were you thinking about last night?" Nori asked his charge as the two strolled through the castle courtyard. 

"Just…something." Saria replied leaning down to admire a small cluster of red roses. "I think if you hadn't have gotten there when you did something would have happened."

"What do you mean?" The fairy asked landing on one of the rose petals to get a better view of her face.

"I'm not sure, something important maybe." She sighed biting her lower lip thoughtfully. "Hmm, come on we better go in. Link said we need to speak to Zelda before leaving."

Inside the castle, Zelda and Link sat waiting in the sitting room. They had discussed some of what the Poe Sisters had said but wanted to wait for Saria to talk in detail. As soon as she arrived, they spent the next half an hour putting together the information.

"So do you have any idea where Ganondorf may have taken the pendants?" Link asked hopefully, not knowing where to start if Zelda didn't have an answer.

Thinking for a second, she nodded. "Follow me to the library."

Swiftly leading them through the winding passages of the castle, they eventually came to a large wooden door. Pushing it open, Zelda casually entered while the others stopped to gasp in amazement. Rows and rows of aged books lined the room as high as their eyes could see. Large armchairs were dotted around the room for those who enjoyed a lazy afternoon with a good book.

"I've read most of these." Zelda said like it was an obvious thing. Fetching a stool, she clambered up it browsing the shelves for the book she needed. "Ah-ha! Here it is." She smiled jumping off the stool. Hurrying over to a table, she opened the book to a certain page motioning for the others to gather around.

"It's a map." Link stated glancing at it dumbfounded.

"It's a map of our major neighbouring country: Meldora. I believe Ganondorf travelled there from time to time severing my father's links with them. These days, the Meldoran empire despises Hyrule but ironically still trusts the Gerudo race. All of our trading routes were blocked off, however there is one route that still leads there. Go through Balbana Valley, if you make it across the wasteland from the war you'll be fine."

"If we make it?" Saria questioned nervously.

"Legends speak of a great war that took place on those grounds many decades ago between us and Meldora. After that war, things slowly calmed down between the two countries but many lives were lost, the souls of the dead have never forgiven their kings for taking such drastic actions." Zelda explained. Gripping the page, she neatly tore it out handing the map to Link. "Now, the Royal Family will send any people of Hyrule straight to the dungeons so don't get too close to the palace.

"Okay, anything else we need to know?" Link asked praying Zelda wouldn't go into one of her long speeches of explanation.

"Not right now, you'll find out more about the place when you get there. Just one more thing. Hyrule has a strong magical security barrier surrounding the border, to get through it you'll need the sceptre-"

"Let me guess, we need the Sceptre of Time." Link interrupted folding up the map to slip into a pocket.

"No, actually it doesn't have a name. I was just going to say you'll need the sceptre that my father used to create the barrier. Lucky for you, I have it ready, since only a member of the Royal Family can use it I'll accompany you to the barrier." Zelda brought out a long golden sceptre, the crest of the Royal Family was delicately engraved at the top. "The barrier is located at Lake Hylia so I suggest we travel there, camp out for the night then you can begin the journey."

"Right. We'll meet you in the stables." Link told the princess as he and Saria left the library ready to go. Meldora awaited them.


	4. The real adventure begins

"I asked Zelda to get a spell to help you carry more things." Link told Saria as he placed his new saddle on Epona. The two hadn't spoken much about the previous night's events which was a good thing for now since neither knew what they were truly feeling.

Wrapped in her Sheikah cloak, carrying a small picnic basket and sleeping bag, Zelda appeared in the stable entrance shortly followed by Impa.

"I'll be along tomorrow morning to collect you." Impa informed the princess, selecting a suitable horse, she placed a saddle on it ready for Zelda.

"Yes I know." Zelda mumbled wishing Impa wouldn't be so overprotective. Removing a small white glowing orb from her cloak Zelda went over to Saria. Closing her eyes she expertly summoned the spell causing sprinkles of light to float down over the Kokiri girl. "There, all done." Zelda smiled.

"Great, now I don't have to worry about Link losing any of my things." Saria grinned.

"Yeah yeah, enough talk, let's get going." Link jumped on Epona holding out a hand for Saria to get on after him.

The afternoon sun beat down upon the trio as they rode across the Hyrulean planes. A lone guay flew silently overhead as a cluster of peahats slept peacefully amongst some tall grass. Leaning her chin on Link's shoulder, Saria sighed contently.

_Beautiful isn't it?_ Link turned his head to see her startled expression, she had forgotten they could speak without her song now. Looking ahead she noticed a large house surrounded by high stone walls. _That's Lon Lon Ranch where Malon lives._ Link continued, _we'll have to go there sometime when we get back. _Saria nodded in agreement thinking how sad it was that the Kokiri were missing out on so much. But, if you've never had it you'll never miss it.

* * *

Finally, after a tiring ride they arrived at the only lake in Hyrule; Lake Hylia. Slipping, more neatly this time from Epona, Saria was awe struck at the scene before her. Crystal clear water brightly sparkled in the afternoon sun. Tektites roamed lazily around the lush green banks feasting on any bugs they could find amongst the clumps of spiked grass. A lone tree stood towering over the lake on a small island in the centre of the water. The pond in Kokiri Forest was a puddle compared to this. 

Link slid off Epona grinning at Saria's expression. Acting on impulse the Kokiri girl threw off her boots and fleece running down into the water. Turning to Zelda and shrugging Link did the same, all worries of the task ahead vanishing from their minds.

Zelda smiled as she watched the two laughing and splashing each other in the water. She sighed. These were the things that made up most people's childhood; apart from hers. There had been no room for messing around without a care in the world when one had to learn the ins and outs of running a country.

"Why don't you go join them?" Nori asked from his perch on Epona's saddle. He didn't want to get too close himself in case it ended like the last time Link and Saria had gotten into a water fight; him nearly drowning.

"I don't think I'm invited." Zelda replied. Wistfully looking at the pair, Link was now spinning around trying to get a giggling Saria off his back. A wicked grin on her face Saria reached over pinching his beloved hat setting it nicely on her own head.

"Hey thief!" Link shouted half laughing. Sliding her arms around his neck, she leaned forward giving his cheek a quick kiss before placing the hat back on his head. Link could feel his face slowly heating up. Attempting to walk, he tripped over his own foot sending himself and Saria tumbling into the water.

"I may be a thief but I'll never be clumsy." Saria joked receiving a face full of water from a dripping Link.

"I don't think they'd mind." Nori smiled glad to see Saria truly happy for once, it had been so long. Looking down at her dress Zelda nodded.

"You're right." Always planning ahead, Zelda took off her dress to reveal a plain t-shirt and shorts. "Impa will never know." She winked running down into the lake to join the fray.

Time seemed to fly by as they played in the water, explored the lake and generally had a good day. Link had managed to embarrass himself again, this time at the Fishing Pond.

"Okay since you girls are new to this you probably won't be very good on your first tries but don't get disheartened." Link explained, taking the rod he proceeded to show them how it was done. It had been a bit easier when Navi had been around to point out the fish to him.

"Don't look at me." Nori said hiding behind Saria. "I'm not going in there with those things!"

"Fine, not like I need you anyway." Link mumbled casting the rod into the pond. A moment later a decent sized fish latched onto the lure. Swiftly reeling it in, Link lifted the fish out to be weighed.

"That's exactly ten pounds." The man behind the counter chuckled scratching an itch under one arm.

"Is that good?" Saria asked admiring a rather large fish in a tank on the counter.

"It's average." Link muttered handing the rod to Zelda who was waiting eagerly by the pond. Positioning herself in a spot she liked, she cast. _Not like she'll catch anything._ Link thought to himself. Glancing at Saria he noticed she was frowning at him. _What happened to keeping each other's privacy?_ He mentally asked her.

_Sorry, you looked so distraught at that fish's weight I couldn't help hearing your thoughts._ Saria replied watching Zelda bobbing the rod up and down trying to coax the fish into biting.

_Nah, it's-_

"Whoa this thing is huge!" Zelda suddenly shrieked. Struggling to pull the thing in she finally picked it up.

"That's twenty pounds!" The owner said handing her a red rupee as a prize. Reds were only worth twenty but it's not like Zelda even needed the money.

"My go!" Saria grinned taking the rod in both hands. Link stood behind her, a slight smirk on his face.

"Remember to flick it back before letting it go." He instructed.

"Right." Saria replied picking a spot in the pond to cast to. Flicking the rod sharply behind her, she didn't notice when the hook caught onto Link's hat, both lure and green garment went flying through the air landing with a splash in the centre of the pond. Needless to say Link's eyes nearly popped out.

"My…my…hat." He mouthed still in shock from what had just happened. A long dark eel-type fish hungrily swam up to the hat biting at it viciously.

"This thing is a monster!" Saria literally screamed as the 'thing' began to pull at the lure. The force was so powerful that she was close to falling in the water for the second time that day. Forgetting his shock, Link hurried up behind her, putting both hands around her waist he was able to stop her sliding any further into the pond. Fighting with the reel she continued to pull the fish until it was right next to them. Link was sure he'd seen that fish before but had never caught it. Becoming tired of reeling, Saria tugged the whole thing into the air sending the fish soaring over their heads.

"Wow! This is the Hylian Loach! It weighs thirty five pounds!" The owner yelled throwing confetti everywhere. "For a prize you get fifty rupees and since I'm feeling so nice you can keep the rod."

"All beginner's luck." Link mumbled squeezing his torn soaking hat between his fingers.

* * *

Laying out a tablecloth over the grass, Zelda began taking different snacks out of her basket. 

"Oh Deku Scrub pasties! My favourite!" Link drooled snatching one from the cloth, taking a large bite he sent crumbs sprinkling everywhere.

"Link you pig!" Zelda snapped slapping his arm. Saria couldn't help laughing.

"What?" Link asked, his mouth still full of pasty.

"Where did you learn such manners?" Zelda replied as she unpacked a few more things.

"From Saria!" He shouted pointing an accusing finger at the green haired girl who put on an overly innocent face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Link. I've always shown the greatest table manners out of most people I know."

Link snorted almost choking on his pasty. "It didn't look like that to me when you were squirting apple juice out of your nose that-"

Before he could carry on Saria shoved her hand over his mouth. "No one needs to know that now do they?"

They sat in silence for the next few minutes contently eating. Saria munched on a piece of watermelon that Zelda said had come from a far away country. Zelda enjoyed some of Impa's homemade cream cakes while Link ate….everything else.

The night soon crept in bringing with it a bitter wind. Wrapping themselves in sleeping bags while sitting by a small fire they talked into the night, mostly about Saria's returning memories. Fortunately, Zelda had an idea of what was going on. She explained that Saria would slowly regain memories from the lost time. She hadn't began to remember them before now since her powers hadn't been needed, memories of each place in Hyrule would slowly flood back to her, visiting that place would trigger them more quickly. When all her memories returned only then would she fully become a Sage.

Putting the fire out, Link yawned. "Let's get some sleep." Agreeing, the others crawled properly into their sleeping bags before drifting off to sleep.

Hours rolled by and still Link couldn't sleep. No matter what way he lay it was no good, sleep wouldn't come.

"No…not…not that." Link jumped up hearing someone moaning. Looking around he couldn't see anything until he realised who it was. Saria must have been regaining her memories of Lake Hylia he thought, her expression was one of fear, he hated to see her that way. Quietly moving closer, he gently put an arm over her while making himself comfortable close by. His presence appeared to ease her nightmare. Not long after Link was fast asleep.

Opening her eyes to the bright morning sun, Saria felt something close to her. Sitting up she saw Link's arm draped over her, the rest of him snuggled in close. He looked so adorable when he slept, the thought of why he was actually so close to her didn't even cross Saria's mind. Feeling the movement, Link sleepily opened his eyes to see an amused Saria smiling at him.

"Uh you looked a little cold last night." Link's face was beat red.

"It was a sweet thought." Saria slid out of her sleeping bag to stand. Reaching out a hand she pulled Link up. The two stood looking at each other for a second, a second that felt like an eternity.

"Morning already?" Zelda grumbled throwing her blankets off. Moving over to the picnic basket for some breakfast she groaned when she saw it was empty.

"Link must have eaten it all." Saria giggled poking his stomach.

"I'm a growing boy, I need my energy." Link argued rolling up his bedding. "I suppose we should get on with this barrier thing. So, where is it?" He turned to Zelda who was fussing with the basket. Pausing to answer she pointed in the direction of the wall at the back of the lake.

"Go ask the owner of that house if we can borrow their boat." She said referring to a wooden fishing boat tied to a post by the Scientist's laboratory.

Figuring it was best not to complain, Link headed over to the Scientist's house. Knocking the door he waited for a response. "Doesn't seem to be anybody home!" He shouted.

"I'm sure he won't mind us borrowing it just to go over there." Zelda reasoned pulling her cloak tightly around herself. Seeing the sense in what she said, Link returned to say goodbye to Epona. Fixing her saddle he got a surprise when Nori popped out of the pocket.

"Were you in there all night?" Link asked raising a brow.

"Pretty much." The fairy yawned stretching his tiny form. "Nice hat." He said grinning at the torn thing resting on Link's head.

Muttering some inaudible words, Link gave Epona a final carrot instructing her to return to the ranch. Packing up the rest of their things, the three clambered into the boat.

"Who wants to row?" Link asked picking up the oars.

"I've never seen a boat in my life so not me." Saria said whilst holding onto each side of the wooden boat.

"They don't teach boat rowing in 'How to be a good ruler' classes." Zelda smirked.

"It's all up to me then." Link rolled his eyes setting himself on one of the benches. Dipping the oars into the water he began to move the boat out into the lake.

Reaching the back of the lake, Zelda signalled for him to stop; they had arrived. Standing as best she could in the slightly wobbling boat the princess began to chant a spell in an ancient tongue. Holding the sceptre above her head she brought it down against the wall. A red flash shot out of the tip melting into the hidden barrier. A moment later, an archway flickered into view, a thick iron gate blocking any outsiders who managed to find it from entering stood between them and Balbana Valley.

Hopping from the boat, Link reached out a hand puling Saria up next to him. Pointing the sceptre at the gate, another red flash erupted from it, the gate began to open. Taking one final look at the banks of Lake Hylia, Link saw Impa silently watching them.

"Take care." Zelda said looking directly at Link. "Both of you." She added smiling at Saria.

"Wait, if Hyrule has a protection barrier doesn't that mean Meldora will have one too?" Link asked.

"You have a lot to learn Link. Hyrule is the realm of magic, Meldora is the realm of technology." With that Zelda watched them walking into the unknown. "When you wish to return simply stand by the wall and play any of the temple warp songs." Raising the sceptre for a third time she summoned the barrier back into place.

* * *

A forgotten wasteland, dry cracked dusty earth, an eerie mist, the stench of death. Balbana Valley had it all. Hearing the wall closing up behind them they braced themselves for what was coming. 

"Nice place eh?" Link half smiled peering through the mist. Nothingness as far as his eyes could see, they had a long trek ahead. Grey clouds loomed above them threatening to burst any moment, the smell of bunt flesh filled the air.

"It's…different." Saria coughed, the foul smell choking her. Taking a step forward she heard an unusual crunching beneath her. Looking down she saw a pile of rotten bones. "I don't know much about death, but if they were in that old war wouldn't they have decomposed by now?" Her eyes wide with worry.

Travelling further along the dry ground they paused when the noise of hooves in the distance echoed around them. Looking behind him, Link gasped at what he saw. A ghostly figure of a knight atop his galloping horse, a long spear held out in front of him. Within the blink of an eye another rider appeared holding a similar weapon. The two charged at each other, spears meeting in a clash of heated anger. For a few moments they fought a fight to the death. Suddenly, one tumbled from his horse and the figures melted into the mist.

A moment of silence occurred before a third rider emerged, charging directly at them faster than anything Link had seen before. Reacting the only way he knew how in such a short space of time, Link moved in front of Saria swiftly raising his shield. Bracing himself for the impact he clenched his eyes shut. When no impact came he opened them. The figure was now actually sailing straight through his body, a slight tingling feeling surged through him.

"They're spirits of the past." Saria marvelled watching the lone ghost drifting away into the mist.

"That would be right." Nori chirped fluttering out from his hiding place amongst her clothes. "The battle was never won so they will fight on in the hopes that one day victory will be someone's."

"I never knew you had a taste for history." Saria stared at her fairy. "And you really need to stop hiding in my clothes, I don't know what you're doing in there."

"Plotting world domination, usual stuff." He lazily commented landing on her head.

"Let's hurry up and move on." Link mumbled placing his shield back in its proper position.

For a while they walked quietly, only the cracking of twigs beneath their feet could be heard in the dull air. Before the pair could take another step the ground began to shake violently. The earth broke apart as bony hands reached up dragging their bodies to the surface. An army of stalfos knights surrounded them, swinging their weapons angrily above their heads.

"Trespassers." One of them hissed charging forward.

"A stalfos army." Link whispered gritting his teeth. Clutching at his sword he lunged forward at the first stalfos slicing it clean in half. Spinning around he sent a foot into another but was blocked by its rusty oval shield. Kicking it again, Link switched his sword to the other hand, stabbing at the stalfos while it was distracted. Quickly sheathing the sword for his bow, he placed a single arrow neatly in it. Aiming directly at a stalfos, the boy blinded it in the eye. Making full use of that moment he grabbed it by the arm tossing the knight roughly into a group behind it.

Ducking under a stalfos arm, Saria watched in awe as Link expertly took out most of the army. Taking out her only weapon, a simple Kokiri slingshot, she shot at a lone stalfos running straight towards her. The deku seed hit it right in the face but didn't do anything apart from a small stun. Sidestepping out of another enemy attack, she was taken by surprise as another grabbed her from behind. Wrapping a rotting arm around her throat, the stalfos attempted to finish her off. The air was slowly sucked out of her lungs, was this the end? The world around her began to turn into a blurred image, she passed out.

_Flashes of Death Mountain swirled into her mind. A ring of fire, a burning temple, an enormous dragon. Gorons sat huddled in tiny cages, Darunia had needed help. The forest and fire Sages had developed a strong bond of friendship when they had finally met in the Sacred Realm. The Goron leader would dance happily to her song, it seemed to ease everyone's anxious minds. In return he had taught her a spell….what was it? It slowly came back to her….she hadn't been able to do it very well at first….but now…she knew._

Opening her eyes, Saria sharply elbowed the stalfos away from her. Raising a hand in the air she concentrated, recalling Darunia's instructions. A surge of magical energy flowed through her being, the power of fire. Swiftly sending her raised fist straight into the ground a ring of bright green flames circled her. Stalfos screeched in pain as the flames engulfed them, burning their bones until only scorched ash remained.

"A green Din's fire?" Link asked in surprise watching the last couple of stalfos fall to the ground.

Standing up from her kneeling position Saria gasped at the outcome.

"Impressive." Nori complimented. "Congrats on performing your first spell of the Goddesses."

Link blinked shaking his head in disbelief. "But how could Saria use Din's Fire? I can't even use spells very well out here."

"Saria's a Sage remember? Her magic levels are far greater than yours which enabled her to summon energy even in places like this." The fairy explained.

"I'll have to thank Darunia for teaching me that." Saria smiled. "Now, how about we get going again?"

Walking a few feet further, they were stopped in their tracks by a ghostly figure appearing through the mist. Getting closer they saw the outline of a horse….or was it a horse? As it moved through the mist, its form was revealed. It had the body of a large black horse but the head of a….

"Man?" Link gawked. The creature stuck the long staff it was holding into the dirt, glaring at the newcomers threateningly. The rough features of its aged face showed many years of wisdom.

"I am The Gatekeeper of Balbana Valley." It bellowed in a low voice, turning its head Link followed its gaze. Squinting a little he saw a long iron gate stretching across the ground.

"So, we're not even in the valley?" Saria bravely asked.

"We do not class this old battlefield as part of the valley any longer."

"Zelda needs to update her library." Link grinned putting his arms behind his head.

"To gain entry, you must both prove yourselves worthy. Lay a single hit on me with one weapon of choice and you shall pass."

"Fine with me." Link took out a long pink and green patterned sword, clutching it with both hands he swung at the creature.

"It will not be easy." It replied raising its staff to block the attack. Link struck again and again, each time being easily blocked. Back flipping out of a quick swipe of the staff, Link prepared a non magical spin attack. Seeing the boy's movements, the Gatekeeper held its staff in a vertical position in front of itself. Just as Link flew forwards it started spinning the staff causing a strong gust of wind to blow Link away.

"Harder than I thought." Link mumbled wiping the sweat from his brow. Swinging the sword again he noticed how the creature was standing. If he timed it right he could probably roll underneath its body. Backing up, Link dashed forwards, diving under the staff he moved into a roll attack managing to roll straight under the creature's body. Coming up the other side he span around sending the sword sinking into its back.

"Well done." The Gatekeeper said, a dim light appeared healing the sword wound.

Catching his breath, Link grinned. "I'll take Saria's turn on her behalf since she has no-"

"It's okay Link, I can do it myself." She interrupted placing a hand on his shoulder.

"B-but." He stammered trying to find the words he wanted to say. Deciding to let her get on with it he shut up.

Raising its staff again, the creature signalled to begin. Saria stood for a second, looking blankly at the thing she began to walk around it.

What exactly is she going to do?" Link hissed at Nori who was hovering near him.

"How am I supposed to know?" Nori replied. "Saria has a mind of her own."

Walking around a few more times she then stopped. Sitting cross legged on the floor, she took out her ocarina. Placing the instrument to her lips, she began to play. A slow haunting melody drifted along the breeze, each note carried with it a feeling of sadness, loss. The Gatekeeper began to sway, the music draining its energy. Dropping the staff, it fell to the ground unable to stand.

Finishing the song, Saria looked up to see the result. Moving up to the creature she gently tapped it with her ocarina.

"Well done." It whispered, now that the song had stopped, the energy was slowly returning.

"What….was that?" Link asked amazed that she had been able to make something so big fall over without even touching it. Turning his head to one side he saw Nori laying on his shoulder.

"Just something I wrote not so long ago…" She quietly answered. "I found it has the power to calm a magical creature when all the forest sprites passed out one day." Nori knew there was a deeper meaning to that song but neither he or she had ever spoken about it.

"Now I shall open the gate." The Keeper announced. Pointing the long staff at the gate, a section creaked open. Leading them through, it pointed over a large canyon. "If you can cross this canyon then you shall be able to enter the true valley."

Peering over the edge, Link gulped. Down below was a rushing river that went right around the valley, one slip into that and it would be hard to get out. The gap was far too big to jump or even hookshot over. Looking both ways there wasn't a bridge in sight.

"This is impossible!" He shouted kicking a loose rock over the cliff in anger.

"The truth will show you the way." Saying that, the Keeper disappeared back into the mist.

"The…? Oh." Link dug through his items bringing out the Lens of Truth. Bringing it up to his eye he attempted to see the answer but got nothing. "Ugh I forgot I can't use magic here."

"Let me." Saria offered, taking the lens she took a look around. At first she saw nothing but then… "Ah, I see a rope bridge over there." She pointed to what looked like thin air to Link.

"Alright, I'll follow you then." He said watching his friend making her way to the right place. Still holding the lens with one hand, she gripped one of the ropes with her other. Taking a step onto the bridge she was relieved to find it was indeed real.

Link winced as he saw her walking on what appeared to be nothingness to him.

"Are you coming?" She held out her hand. Nodding, Link took it letting her guide his own to the rope.

Soon they were nearly at the half way mark, so far so good. Suddenly, a high pitched shriek echoed through the air. Glancing up Link gasped, Saria screamed. A huge dark bird swooped towards them, talons out ready to strike. The two ducked when the animal swooped again, shrieking even louder.

"That thing has teeth!" Saria yelled nearly dropping the lens. Taking out his bow Link shot a few arrows at the flying enemy, this only angered it more. Diving at them for a third time, the bird flew directly into the rope behind Link tearing its beak clean through it.

"This is not good." He stated. The rope snapped, clinging onto the part of the bridge that was now falling towards the opposite wall, they braced themselves.

_Smack_

Seeing its chance the bird flew at them again. Quickly taking out one of his throwing stars, Link tossed it at the bird while holding onto the rope with his free hand. The star hit the bird dead on.

"Phew." Link sighed with relief as the bird plummeted into the river. That was definitely worth wasting one star on. Pocketing the lens, they began to feel their way up the ropes.

Reaching the top of the cliff first, Saria was stunned at the sight before her. A vast valley of lush green trees stretched out for miles, a thin slip of a stream surrounded the forest where small animals and people could relax by. The valley itself was nestled between two giant mountains. Clambering up next to her Link whistled.

"Hey look at that." Saria pointed to a tall castle miles away in the distance.

"Must be Meldora." Link smiled. "It's a great view from atop this hill but the quicker we get moving the quicker we get there. I'll race you to the bottom!" He shouted before running down.

"That's an unfair start!" Saria replied running after him. The kingdom of Meldora getting closer with each step.

* * *

The desert sun blazed down across the golden sands, afternoon was the hottest time of day in Gerudo Valley. Women were busily going about their daily duties, guarding the fortress, training themselves in combat and other general activities that entertained people of their kind. 

Nabooru, Sage of spirits, new leader of the Gerudo, stood proudly at the top of the fortress surveying the day's goings on. Folding her arms lazily, she sighed. Ruling a race was harder than she had expected, but of course, anything was better than _him_ being in charge again. Being leader meant she was unable to spend as much time in her temple, this put a strain on her mental state sometimes. Glancing in the direction of the entrance she noticed a small group of women, more than likely returning from the market.

"Lady Nabooru, excuse me for interrupting your thoughts but I have news for you." A figure appeared behind her.

"Hmm? What's that?" She asked dully.

"Word on the streets of the market is that the kid has started his journey."

Nabooru grinned. "I see. Go after them, but do not say I sent you. I want you to make sure they're ok. I'm not one of the guardian Sages for nothing. Take the path through the desert, you won't get any trouble if you show anyone who tries to stop you your membership card."

"Yes my lady, it will be my pleasure." The figure bowed before hurrying out of her sight.


	5. Realisations

A cool breeze whistled through the valley gently rustling through the trees. Sitting by the stream Saria peered into the water. Touching her face she wondered if the person looking back at her in the reflection was really herself. The childlike features of her face were slowly maturing and her hair was now a few inches longer. Standing up she walked over to Link who was searching through his bag for some snacks. Grinning, he took out some deku pasties that he had taken from Zelda's basket the night before. Standing to his full height, he stared at Saria.

"You grew again." He pointed out, looking at the girl who was nearly as tall as him now.

"It's nice not to have to strain my neck to look at you anymore." She smiled taking one of the pasties from her friend. "I don't think I'll grow again for a while though."

"Wouldn't think so." Link mumbled chewing on a piece of pasty while wondering what was waiting within the forest ahead of them. Finishing up he looked around. "Let's keep going, we have plenty of time before the sun sets."

Nodding, Saria hopped over the stream after him. Closing her eyes she breathed in the valley air. Turning his head, Link smiled. "What are you doing?" He asked, smile turning into a smirk.

"Enjoying the fresh air." She stated, "it's so different from back home, it's really refreshing."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Link replied.

Stepping into the forest the light slowly began to fade into darkness.. Trees towered over the two, some grew straight up while others twisted into strange shapes. Looking above, Saria could see outlines of tiny animals scurrying along the thin branches knocking pieces of bark off as they ran.

"…What was that?" Saria quietly asked, an anxious expression crossed over her face.

"What was what?" Link paused from walking. A loud scuffling sound was coming from deeper in the woods followed by a series of angry growls. The commotion ended in a disturbing tearing noise. A terrified scream echoed all around before the area was shrouded in silence once again. A trail of blue sparkles twinkled dimly amongst the trees. Wondering what they were, Saria headed in that direction. Pushing through the leaves, she gasped putting her hand over her mouth to stop herself being sick.

"Oh my." Nori whispered hovering slightly above her head.

"Whoa." Link stood behind her shocked at the sight in front of them. Dark patches of blood stained the moss covered ground, pieces of rag lay drenched in the red liquid. The centre of the mess was the worst part, a mangled corpse lay tangled and torn, one could barely make out what the mass even was. The coppery stench of blood mixed with ripped flesh filled their noses, a foul taste entering their mouths. Spinning around and shoving past Link, Saria threw up in a nearby bush. Seeing a sight like that was a lot more traumatic than seeing it in a vision.

"What vile creature could have done this?" Nori asked landing on Link's hat.

"I don't know…" Link mumbled moving away from the scene. "Are you okay?" He turned to Saria who was wiping her mouth with a cloth.

"I'm fine." She managed to say. "I have to get used to stuff like this."

The darkness began to thin out as they continued deeper into the woods. Muffled voices could faintly be heard in the distance. Ducking under a low branch, Link got a shock when an arrow flew straight through his hat hitting a tree behind.

"Getting torn to shreds." He muttered retrieving the piece of clothing from the tree. Carefully taking the arrow out, he turned around to see a girl holding a long wooden bow. She wore a tattered light brown tunic with similar brown boots to match. A small quiver hung neatly on her back, a few arrows resting within. Dusty blonde shoulder length hair swept loosely around her face, dark eyes eagerly watching the newcomers.

"Stay back trespassers!" She warned, pointing her bow at them.

"We mean no harm." Saria explained now having regained her state of mind.

"That's what they all say." The girl growled still not convinced.

"We aren't the ones shooting arrows here." Link frowned putting his hat back on.

"What's with your weird clothes?" She asked. "Trying to blend in with the scenery?"

A small chubby boy ran up to the girl, his head stuck in a book. "They're Kokiri from Hyrule Sis. A mysterious race of eternal children living deep in the southern forest. Unable to leave their sheltered home, they live peacefully amongst the wildlife."

"I wish you would get your head out of those books for once Taru." The girl sighed. "And change out of those scruffy shorts and shirt for once. You know Dad doesn't like you going around like that."

The boy referred to as Taru looked down at his clothes. A plain white shirt, a patch of dirt here and there on it, baggy brown shorts and old lace up boots. He didn't see anything wrong with them.

"Mom wouldn't mind." He replied flicking a stray strand of bushy black hair from his freckled face, blue eyes fixed on his older sister. The total opposite of her in appearance.

"Mom isn't here, and she's not coming back!" The girl snapped, lightly whacking her brother over the head.

"You're wrong Rika, she's still out there somewhere, I know she is!" He yelled back.

"You're just a kid, what would you know?" She brushed his words aside, still pointing her bow at Link and Saria.

"Uh hi." Link interrupted, "we only want to pass through to Meldora, so if you don't mind…"

"Meldora is quite a walk from here, you should stay for a while." Taru suggested. "We're having the annual archery competition tomorrow!"

"Don't invite the enemy to stay." Rika hissed. "They say they're Kokiri but are out of their home."

"It's a long story but if you let us in we'll explain some things later." Link hoped she'd stop the harassment now.

"Fine, but I'm watching you." She lowered her weapon.

"Great." Link smiled. "I'm Link, this is Saria and the flying puffball is Nori." That last remark resulted in Link getting a whack in the arm from Saria.

"Our village is a short walk from here, follow me." Rika took the lead swinging her bow over one shoulder. By now the thick mass of trees had thinned revealing a wide dirt track for walking.

Taru still had his head in that book, how he managed to walk and read Rika could never work out. Moving up beside him Saria caught some glimpses of the writing inside.

"You like reading a lot?" She asked, curious to know what language that book was written in.

The boy looked up at her nodding. "Yeah I try to read whatever I can find. My dream is to be a famous scholar one day."

"Pfft famous scholar." Rika mumbled to herself in the front.

"What language is that written in?"

"Some is Meldoran while some is Hylian. Living in between both kingdoms I've decided to learn both." Closing the book he handed it to Saria so she could get a better look at the writing.

"One language is good enough for most people." Rika snorted kicking a loose stone in her path. "We all speak the same language so why learn to read another?"

"In olden times every race and kingdom spoke a different tongue. It was only in the last five hundred years that we've all started speaking the same." Saria flicked through the book. "I'm fluent in the Kokiri language and I've learnt a little Hylian from various books I've found."

"You know Hylian?" Link tilted his head to the side, Saria could be so mysterious sometimes.

"A little, I discovered a book on it while I was exploring the temple one day." She closed the book giving it back to Taru.

The conversation continued until they arrived at the village entrance. A thin wooden arch was placed in front, the words Orlu Village faintly scribbled on it. The village itself was a small one, Log cabins were dotted here and there, a group of villagers sat happily fishing by a lake in the centre, young children ran about chasing each other.

"Welcome to Orlu Village." Rika announced. Leading them through the children they arrived at what must have been their home. Stepping inside she took a quick look around. It was a medium sized room, wooden panels covered the floor and walls, old rugs lay in various places around the room. In one corner was a large log fire with aged dusty armchairs sitting near it. On the opposite side of the room was a small kitchen area complete with a stove, sink and a few cupboards. A door was placed in the centre of the back wall, Link assumed it lead to some sort of upstairs area.

"Looks like Dad isn't home." Rika concluded, tossing her bow and quiver onto a chair she turned to their new guests. "I'll show you around the village if you like before I have to practice."

"Practice? For what?" Saria asked.

"Every year we have an archery competition in the village. Participants must be thirteen or over so this is my sister's first year of entering." Taru explained.

"Hmm, interesting." Link smirked.

"I've been one of the finest archers here for a long while, most people think I'll win." Rika said, Link swore he could see her head expanding. "Anyway, come on let's go." Ushering them and Taru out of the door she slammed it shut.

It didn't take long to see most of Orlu since it wasn't that big. Making their way through a cluster of trees Rika stopped them at the tallest one.

"This is the tallest tree in the village, only I can climb it." She announced proudly.

_Oh wow, forget my climbing of Death Mountain and Stone Tower, Rika can climb a tree! _Link thought to Saria, she quietly laughed.

"I can demonstrate if you need proof!" Rika huffed at seeing Link's smirk and Saria laughing.

"Sure, I'll join you." Link replied yawning. "I did grow up in a forest after all."

Saria shook her head, she knew Link could easily scale that tree, as could she but she felt there was no reason for her to show it off. "While you two enjoy your climb I'm going to go look around the woods a bit." She was curious to see those blue sparks again.

Doing a couple of stretches Link waited for Rika. The tree itself had a large trunk with thick branches going most of the way up making plenty of room for both teenagers to climb.

"Ready when you are." Rika ran towards the tree and began to pull herself up the first branch. Grinning at the thought that she'd gotten a head start on Link, she got a shock when she glanced above her. "Wha….how did you get up there so fast?"

"I told you, this is nothing." He replied swinging himself up to the next branch while she was still clambering up the first. Attempting to quicken her pace, she nearly slipped from the branch.

"Be careful Rika." Taru warned from below them.

Meanwhile, Saria had wandered deeper in the woods, she knew not to go too far though, one never knows what the darkness of a forest can hold.

"This place doesn't seem to be magical so what were they?" She asked herself. Walking on further she noticed something on the ground. A drop of sparkling blue liquid glistened in the dim light. Kneeling down she reached out to touch it. "Ouch!" She jumped back in shock shaking her finger. "That's burning…" Turning her finger around a deep red scar was now embedded across it, a burning pain flowed right through. A loud howl echoed all around her.

Reaching the top of the tree, Link chuckled. "Too easy." He watched Rika struggle to catch up with him, pulling herself onto the top branch she took a breath.

"What are you?" She asked staring directly at the boy.

"I am me." He simply replied. A loud howl echoed in the distance. "Saria!" He slid down the tree branches so fast Rika nearly fell from surprise. Drawing his sword he headed towards the woods. Luckily Saria was walking out of them, seeing her finger he hurried over. "Are you ok? What did that?" His voice becoming louder with concern.

"I'm okay." She smiled gently, "but my finger won't stop burning."

"Here." Link took out a red potion, softly taking her finger he poured a few drops into the wound.

"It's not doing any good." Saria sighed.

Tearing off a piece of his sleeve, Link wrapped it around her finger. "At least keep it covered up."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to." He smiled putting the potion bottle back in its place.

Finally reaching the bottom of the tree, Rika stood watching them talking.

"Shouldn't we go introduce them to Dad now?" Taru looked at his sister.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Hey you two we'll take you down to the main lake now to meet our father." Nodding they followed Rika and Taru down a slope one side of the village. A lake slightly smaller than Lake Hylia sat at the bottom. Fishing boats sailed serenely along the water as the evening sun bathed the area in a golden glow. Running down the hill, Taru waved to his father who was sat in one of the boats. Seeing his children and what appeared to be new guests the man brought the boat to the bank. Tying the boat to a pole in the grass he stepped onto the land again. He was a tall burly man, a mop of thick black hair like his son's covered his head while a short dark beard framed his rough face. Dark eyes peered out from amongst the hair, happiness swirling within them when he looked at his children. Moving his attention to Link and Saria, he smiled.

"More travellers I see, Meldora must be getting busy. My name is Erik, pleased to meet you." Holding out his hand both took a turn to shake it.

"Is it ok if they stay a few nights Dad?" Taru asked clinging to his father's arm.

"Well we don't have much room but you're welcome to use our floor." The man offered.

"We're used to camping so the floor will do fine, thank you for the offer." Saria smiled.

"We'll be heading back to our house now, you should take some time to look around the lake." Rika spoke up, grabbing her brother by the shirt she dragged him up the hill, their father following close behind. Slipping her arm through Link's, Saria and he took a walk around the lake.

"The world is a beautiful place from what I've seen so far." Saria broke the silence between them. "I always knew there was a world beyond the forest but I never imagined it to be anything like this."

Link nodded in agreement, he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. All of his life he had never had a problem talking to Saria, she was his best friend, he could tell her anything. But right now something was different, he was experiencing feelings he never truly had done before. The evening sun was casting a golden glow on her face, she turned to look at him, smiling that smile that would always melt his heart.

"I'm glad you're here." He finally managed to say, his face becoming slightly red. It had only been a few days but having Saria with him all the time made him realise how much he enjoyed having her with him, how much he needed her.

"I'm glad to be here." She replied. Knowing Link for the amount of time she had, she knew when something wasn't quite right, she could sense he had an awkward feeling within him. Unlinking their arms, she grinned.

"What're you doi-? Hey!" Link yelled as she pinched his beloved hat. Placing it on her head she started to run shouting for him to catch her. "Oh I'll catch you alright." He laughed chasing after his friend.

The chase went on for a few minutes before Link began to gain on her. Seeing his chance he leapt, pinning her straight to the ground.

"Okay you got me." She giggled turning to face him, he was now on top of her, their faces inches apart. She could feel his hot breath brushing against her face.

Link looked down at Saria, she still had his hat on but that didn't bother him. Those feelings were beginning to burn inside him, without anymore thinking he leaned forward. He kissed her.

Saria's mind was abuzz with thoughts, Link was kissing her and more to the point, she was enjoying it. The moment soon ended, both pulled apart but didn't take their eyes off each other, still laying in the grass.

"…Here's your hat." Saria whispered handing him the hat.

"Thanks." He replied, gently taking the garment from her hand, their eyes still locked.

"We should get some sleep." She said, her voice still quiet.

"Right." Breaking the eye contact he pushed himself off her. Jumping up after Link, Saria brushed the grass from her clothing.

Up at the house Nori was perched on one of the windowsills overlooking the village. Noticing Link and Saria coming up the hill he fluttered over to them. Getting closer, he noticed both were looking a little flushed.

"What happened to you two?" He asked.

"Er…I'll see you inside." Link mumbled heading into the house.

"Well?" Nori asked again. Walking behind the house Saria sat on the back porch, a dreamy expression on her face.

"I just had my first kiss."

"What? With who!" Nori shrieked, he had known this day would come the moment they'd left the forest, but he hadn't expected it this soon.

"With Link." She simply said, swinging her legs up onto the porch, she lay down staring at the wooden ledge above her.

"I see." The fairy said, "how did it feel?"

"It was…" She thought for a second. "It was amazing, for one moment I was closer to him than I've ever been."

It was official, Saria was growing up. Most fairies didn't have to worry about this sort of thing happening, Nori sighed. Soon it would be time, but no, not yet, she still needed him and he needed her. When all of this was over, then would be the time.

Link sat in one of the armchairs by the crackling fire, the orange flames danced before his eyes but the only thing he could see was her, the only thing he wanted to see was her.

"Saria." He whispered to himself. It was getting late, Taru had taken himself to bed, Erik was sat in a corner cleaning his boots while Rika was doing some last minute tidying around the room.

"Right I'm done here, I'll be going to bed now, I need to be up early for some last minute practice." Kissing her father on the cheek, Rika left the room.

"She's so like her mother." Erik sighed. Snapping out of his thoughts Link turned his head.

"Do you mind if I ask what exactly happened to your wife?"

The man shook his head. "It's fine. But the truth is we do not know. Lately a couple of the villagers have gone missing and we've been hearing strange howls from time to time."

Link remembered the bloody mass in the woods and shuddered.

"Taru insists she's still out there somewhere. I'd like to live in hope, but we must move on with our lives now and accept the fact that she won't be returning to us." Placing his boots down, he stretched his arms. "I'll also be heading to bed now, make sure to get Saria in won't you? And put those bolts across on the door."

Nodding, Link stood to call Saria in but was beaten to it as she entered. Standing for a second they looked at each other before Saria threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

A surprised Link returned the hug then smiled. She wasn't mad at him, he was so relieved. Holding her close no words were needed, both knew what went on had happened for a reason, but for now nothing needed to be said.

Breathing in the smell of her hair, Link sighed happily. Today had made him realise something he'd been too blind to see for so many years. He was in love with his best friend.

Saria held him tightly, being in his arms she felt safe, like an explosion could happen all around them but he wouldn't let anything harm her. She wanted him to kiss her again, to feel his lips against hers, all the loneliness, all of the fear would cease in that moment. She had always loved Link, she knew this but now she knew for definite, she wanted him. She was in love with her best friend.

* * *

The morning soon rolled in bringing with it another sunny day. Creeping down the stairs and into the main room, Rika tiptoed over to the front door, bow and quiver strapped to her back. Glancing across the room she saw Link and Saria sound asleep in their sleeping bags, Nori slept peacefully on a shelf. Before she could get any further, Saria slowly woke up. Rubbing her eyes she peered through the dim light. Seeing that Saria was awake Rika got an idea. 

"Psst, fancy coming to my archery training?" She whispered.

"Sure." Saria quietly replied. Slipping out of her sleeping bag she proceeded to follow Rika out the door.

A cool breeze wrapped around the girls waking them up immensely. Leading Saria along the dirt path they arrived at the training ground. A row of wooden targets were lined up ready for use. Sitting on a nearby bench Saria watched Rika shoot some perfect shots.

"Hmm pretty good." Rika spoke to herself. "Hey, how are you with a bow?" She asked Saria.

"Me? I've never had a chance to use one much."

"Come up and have a go." Rika held out the bow. Deciding she had nothing to lose, Saria took it. Holding the weapon the way she'd seen Link hold it many times before, she waited for Rika to place an arrow in it. Pulling the arrow back, she let go. The arrow landed near the bottom of the target.

"Not bad." Rika commented. "With a bit more practice you could be a decent archer."

Returning to the bench Saria continued to watch Rika.

"So, what's the deal with you and Link?"

Saria looked up startled, she hadn't been expecting that question.

"What do you mean, what's the deal?" She asked.

"Come on, a good looking girl like you, a cute guy like him travelling together, there's got to be something going on." Rika made another perfect shot.

Saria didn't know what to say, was there something? Flashbacks of the evening before flooded back into her mind. Did best friends do that sort of thing? She came to the conclusion they didn't. However, neither had spoken of the kiss since so she assumed it was to be forgotten.

"We're best friends." She answered.

"I see, you won't mind me trying my luck with him then?" Rika chuckled when she saw Saria pale. "Haha, I was only kidding. But remember, you better snag him up before someone beats you to him."

The last part actually made a lot of sense.

After a few more shots the girls headed back to the house. Link was sitting half awake still in his sleeping bag, Taru sat at the small breakfast table as his father cooked the meal.

"Ah, there you are." Erik smiled. "Since the archery contest isn't until this afternoon, I want you to take a boat up the big lake and scare the fish down again."

"Okay Dad, Link and Saria can come too." Rika replied taking a seat at the table.

"What do you do?" Link tiredly asked rubbing his eyes.

"It's too far for the fishing boats to sail up so I get the kids to take a boat along the bigger lake behind the small one and scare the fish into moving up stream for us." Erik explained setting the plates around the table.

As soon as breakfast was over Rika hurried them out of the door.

"Take care of your brother!" Her father yelled after her.

Running through the village, past the small lake they travelled down another grassy hill to be greeted with a much larger lake, it snaked off into the trees, Link guessed that's where they were going.

"Oh good, there's a boat here." Rika untied one of the fishing boats. "Everyone get in."

"Lovely, another boating experience." Link mumbled. Stepping in he turned around to help Saria in, she gave him a smile. Next was Taru and then Rika. Picking up the oars she pushed from the bank.

"How often do you do this?" Saria asked curiously.

"Whenever they decide they want to fish in this lake." Taru answered, "so quite a lot."

"You must really like fish." Link joked dipping a hand into the cool water.

"It's how we make a living, without them we'd have nothing to sell in the Meldora markets." Rika steered the boat along the river. Soon they came to the place where the water became narrower. Easily moving through, Rika finally brought them to a stop. The area was like a large pound surrounded by a grassy bank and many trees, they were directly in the centre of the water. Taking a quick look around Link could sense that something wasn't right. A bubbling noise rippled up from under them.

"Do you hear that?" He asked, cautiously surveying the place.

"I don't think so." Taru leaned over the edge of the boat trying to see the fish.

"Don't do that Taru, you might fall in." Rika warned.

Suddenly the bubbling became louder, the water began to sway, something blue burst from beneath them howling angrily. It was shaped like a wolfos but was covered in a blue sparkling substance.

"It's that thing!" Saria shouted. "That's how I burnt my finger."

The monster spun around in the air before crashing back into the water, the boat shook rapidly, Link held onto Saria but it was too late for Taru. The boy had still been hanging over the edge.

"Aaaah Rika!" He yelled tumbling into the water with the beast.

"Taru you idiot!" His sister screamed.

"I'll deal with this." Link said confidently, searching through his items he brought out something that would hopefully solve their problem.


	6. Answers for Orlu

_**A/N: I'd just like to say thank you to all who review, every one is always appreciated.**_

**_ ---_**

The powers of water surged through his body, his form began to morph into that of the water dweller. He became slightly taller, slimmer, faster. Link had used the Zora Mask.

Saria stared dumbfounded at what had just happened, she had known Link could use masks to change into different races but had never seen it take place until now.

Diving from the boat Link used his new powers to move quickly through the water. Swimming deeper he spotted Taru laying unconsciously on the lakebed. Grabbing the boy, Link swam to the surface and literally threw his body onto the bank. As he was about to climb out himself, the animal got a hold of his leg between its teeth dragging him back into the water.

"Argh." Link grumbled kicking at the thing gnawing on his leg. Focusing his energy he summoned the Zora magic shield, the blue magic covered his body temporarily stinging the wolfos. Ramming his entire body into the monster, Link began to swim to the surface again. Just as he was free, the wolfos charged up behind him, slamming its head into the boy, it sent him flying out of the water, crashing into a tree so hard that the mask actually came away from his face. His whole body was now burning from the touch of the blue liquid, looking down at his ankle a trail of blood was dripping from it.

"Link!" Saria leapt out of the boat.

"Stay back Saria!" He yelled at her. "All three of you get out of here now!"

"I'm not leaving you." She insisted. The animal turned to Saria, fire in its eyes. It slowly began to run at her, gaining speed with each step. She stared it down, not moving an inch. The wolfos was larger than the average one, fangs hanging out ready to tear the flesh of its next victim. And yet, Saria continued to stare directly into its eyes.

"Saria get out of the way!" Link cried, not being able to move. He felt like his heart was in his throat, what was she doing?

It was inches from her now, she could see the shining fangs eager to eat her alive, another second and it would all be over. The wolfos stopped. A cold breeze ruffled its burning fur as the girl kept staring at it. An invisible telepathic link connected the two, she could now speak to the animal.

"_Tell me, what's wrong?" _Saria asked the animal, a series of pining noises followed as it spoke in its language to her. "_I see." _She replied when it had finished.

"What's going on?" Rika asked kneeling down next to her brother. Link sat against the tree staring in amazement, he had forgotten how much courage Saria actually had.

"This animal needs help." Saria replied. "If it will just let me…"

Closing her eyes once more she concentrated her thoughts to the animal. Reaching up she carefully moved her hands through its burning fur, oddly, the blue flames didn't harm her at all. The wolfos was using all of its power to stop the girl from getting burnt. Feeling deeper into its fur she finally found what she had been searching for. With one quick tug it was all over. "Got it." She smiled, holding up the object to find it was a very small sparkling blue needle.

"What is that?" Link blinked.

"It's what has been troubling this wolfos for so long." Saria explained. "The energy in this needle has been constantly tormenting and controlling the poor thing, it was forced to kill anything that fled from its path in a hope to communicate with them. The water was the only thing that calmed the pain." Pocketing the needle she sighed, the wolfos began talking to her again, the blue flames disappearing around it. "Oh my." She said aloud.

"What now?" Link mumbled, digging into his pockets he found a red potion. Pouring a few drops into his wounds he watched them slowly heal. Standing, the boy stretched his muscles, they still ached somewhat but the wounds weren't bleeding anymore.

"There is a demon controlling this power, it lives not too far from here." Saria told the group from what she could understand. "The wolfos will take us there."

"Well we're coming too!" Rika demanded.

"How do you expect Taru to do anything in that state?" Link reasoned, he was about to put his potion bottle away when Rika snatched it. Opening her brother's mouth she tipped some in. A few moments and the small boy started coughing up water.

"He's still in no shape, this could be dangerous." Saria sided with Link.

"Please, this could be our only chance to find out what exactly happened to our mother." Rika quietly pleaded.

Pushing himself up, Taru coughed once more. "I'm okay." He croaked. "If this wolfos is going to take us to some answers I want to come."

"Fine, let's climb on." Link folded his arms, a stern expression drawn on his face. Grabbing his mask from the ground he waited for the others to get on before him. Saria in the front since she was the one who could communicate with the animal, Taru next, then Rika, the last tiny piece of room was of course for him.

The wolfos began to run at a rather incredible speed. Rushing through the woods the children felt the wind beating against their faces. Turning left, spinning to the right, diving under low branches, jumping over streams. They continued deeper into the mass of trees. The sheer speed and buzz of images zooming by reminded Link of riding Epona across the vast fields. On impulse he spread his arms out to get the feeling he was flying.

"Mmm that's go- whaa!" He yelled as the wolfos jumped over some loose branches. Tumbling off the animal, Link clutched onto its tail for dear life. "Ow, ow, ouch!" He yelped, being dragged through dirt and rocks wasn't very fun.

Turning to see what the noise was about Saria frowned. "Link this is no time to be messing around." Returning to face the direction she had been, she couldn't help laugh a little.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Link yelled back, pulling himself up again.

"Haha Linky boy got told." Rika sniggered wickedly. This briefly lightened the tense mood for a short time, until they arrived at their destination.

Another clearing deep within the woods, an oval pool was situated in the corner. Coming to a halt, the group stared in wonder. The wolfos gave a short howl, the liquid began to sizzle.

"Ok you take this and stay here with Taru." Link ordered Rika, handing her his bow he slid off the wolfos. "Saria you-." He was about to tell her the same thing but found she had already taken a few steps over to the pool. Catching up to her he moved in front. "Wait up." He said. The water continued to sizzle, a surge of energy erupted from the depths, the cause of the problems emerged.

The being had what appeared to be a body fully made of water, it was shaped unevenly, something wasn't right.

"I didn't expect anyone to find me." It spoke in a gurgling voice barely audible. Glancing back and forth from Link and Saria it spoke for the second time. "I can sense which of you helped that pitiful wolfos, Kokiri, you shall die!" The water split from its blob of a body, five long necks slithered from the mass, each growing a watery head, bright blue eyes glaring from all five. A thin blue beam shot from each head's mouth, aiming right for Saria. Diving to one side she and Link narrowly missed the blow.

Picking out his boomerang, Link grit his teeth in frustration. "I can't hit this with much else." Tossing the weapon it tore through the line of heads stunning them all in turn.

Rika took this as her sign to fire, swiftly placing an arrow in the bow she fired with ease. The arrow pinned itself nicely into the far left head causing it to shrivel back into the body.

"That was just a warm up anyway." It gurgled, swinging one of the necks over to Link, it twisted itself around him tightly.

"Oh no you don't." Rika shot a series of arrows at the remaining loose heads, one which was about to lunge for Saria. The heads retreated back into the body of water, only one remained squeezing the life out of Link.

Saria was trying to think of something when an immense pain shot through her head, falling to her knees, she passed out.

_Hyrule field, the usually beautiful scene was dull and grey. No life, no sun, no hope. Lon Lon Ranch set in the centre, evil laughter coming from within. A woman garbed in blue appeared floating through the air, her long silky blue hair gently blowing around her slim body._

"_Hyrule Field, an area of peace was nearly destroyed. However, we both know what happened after. Take the power of my love young Sage, use it to aid yourself along with others on your journey."_

_The woman disappeared. A soothing new power flowed into Saria's mind._

_Nayru's Love._

The demon threw another of its snaking necks towards Saria, opening her eyes she summoned a green force field to protect herself. The water bounced off it, hitting the beast dead on. Releasing Link from its death grip, the thing grew increasingly frustrated.

"So be it, I shall vanquish you all with my final attack." Twisting its body into a quick spin the wind began to pick up. The trees blew drastically, twigs and pebbles danced through the air all around them. Spinning faster and faster the monster's body grew taller until it had become a large waterspout. The wolfos backed nervously away with Rika and Taru but it was too late for the others. The current of the water dragged them both in, spinning around and around. The spout eventually transformed into a whirlpool. Squinting through the water, Link managed to see a branch, using all of his strength he grasped onto it tightly.

"This thing has to have a weakness." He peered into the centre of the swirling vortex, concentrating he could see a small blue human-like figure, was that the main source of all this?

Saria continued to be thrown around in the whirling water, Nayru's Love wore off causing her to feel the full effect of the rushing waves. Flying past Link, he barely clutched onto her sleeve.

_Hang on here!_ He telepathically said, speaking out loud would be no good against the noise of the water. "If I can get one good hit…" Bringing out his hookshot he aimed at the now laughing figure. Latching on, the weapon dragged the boy hurtling towards it, holding his sword out in front of himself, Link stabbed it sharply into the figure's skull. The water demon span around attempting to claw at Link but it was no use, removing his sword and digging it in again, the monster's days were at an end. Screeching with pain it exploded into shower of bright blue droplets, the whirlpool vanished. Collapsing onto the ground Link sighed, an odd piece of crumpled paper fell into his lap.

Letting go of the branch Saria walked over to him. Sitting behind Link, she hugged him. "I'm glad you're okay." She smiled while leaning over his shoulder. "What's that?" She asked noticing the piece of paper.

"No idea." Link replied. Opening the thing up his eyes widened. A tattered map lay before them, landmarks were circled here and there. Pulling out his map of Meldora, Link nodded. "This is another map of Meldora, but look, it has certain places marked, four to be exact."

"For four pendants." Saria realised.

"That would be my guess too." Link answered.

"This can be travelling rule number three right? Always carry a map to know where you're going!" She grinned then started laughing.

"That was my line." Link grumbled but soon joined in the laughing, when Saria was happy it was always infectious.

"Hey my finger doesn't burn anymore." She unwrapped the cloth to reveal a healthy finger. When the water demon was destroyed, its burn curse disappeared with it.

"You're right, my body doesn't burn anymore either."

Moving through the damp grass Rika and Taru came up next to the pair. A slight gust of wind silenced them. The puddles of water began to change into ghostly figures of people who serenely floated away. Staring for awhile, Rika shook her head in shock.

"They're people from our village, the ones who…were killed." She remained standing, watching in disbelief as they flew by. Taru joined her, stunned at the sight before them. Then, one figure emerged from the water, a beautiful middle aged woman, her shoulder length hair waved gently in the breeze.

"Momma?" Taru meekly asked even though he already knew the answer. The woman did not speak, just hovered in the wind, a weak smile covering her face. Her eyes sparkled with tears, but no words could be said. With a final glance, she disappeared.

They travelled back to the village in silence. The wolfos carried the group back to their boat, slipping off the animal, Link took up the oars since Rika's mind was elsewhere. Arriving back on the lake bank, Taru jumped out of the boat and run up the hill, his eyes tightly shut in an attempt to hold back the tears.

"At least maybe now he'll get that crazy idea of being a scholar out of his head." Rika mumbled folding her arms.

"What do you mean?" Saria asked stepping onto the grass.

"Our mother was studying to become one, she was on her way to the Meldora library that day, if she had just stayed here. I won't lose my brother the same way!" The girl shot up the hill after him.

Link remained sitting in the boat, his shoulders and back were throbbing from the hits he had taken. If what little of the magic energy hadn't been in those woods he wouldn't have been able to summon the Zora barrier, who knows what could have happened without that.

Nori fluttered out of Saria's pocket, landing on her head he sighed. "If you hold onto something too tight it will end up resenting you, however, if you let it go it may eventually return to you. Isn't that right Saria?"

"Yeah." She nodded but inwardly wondered why he'd mentioned it.

Entering the house just as Rika had finished explaining things to her father, they were greeted with a scene of Taru crying in one of the armchairs.

"We're sorry about your wife." Link said dropping his gaze to the floor, if he and Saria had gotten here sooner they could have helped save her.

"No need." Erik weakly smiled, "I already knew she was gone the moment we learned of those killings. Taru is taking this the hardest." He glanced over to his son who was still crying. "He truly did believe she was coming back."

"We should get going." Saria whispered to Link.

"Right." He agreed, it was time to leave them to their grieving.

"I'll see you off." Rika walked to the door. "I could use the air anyway."

Moving through the village in the direction of the opposite entrance the three paused at the gate.

"I guess this is bye, for now." Rika smiled. "Come back and save us again sometime."

"You're taking all of this rather well." Link commented on her calm manner.

"Like Dad, I knew the truth already, Taru will deal with it in his own time. I have an archery tournament to win and Mom wouldn't want me to miss it." She winked and with that leaned over kissing Link on the cheek. Link had a startled expression while the one on Saria's face was priceless, Rika laughed. "Don't worry, he's all yours." She whispered in the forest girl's ear while nudging her with an elbow.

** ---**

"What was she saying to you?" Link curiously asked Saria as they headed into the woods.

"Uh, nothing." She blushed. "Come on we want to make good distance before nightfall don't we?" She pushed him along the path hoping he wouldn't ask about it anymore.

The sun began to sink behind the trees once more, darkness swallowed up the horizon, night had arrived.

"I didn't think it would be so far." Link growled pushing his way through the loose bushes. Turning to make sure Saria was alright, he stumbled over a fallen log landing flat on his face.

"Are you ok?" Saria peered over him. Pushing himself up, he grumbled while dusting his tunic off.

"Yeah I'm fine. Looks like we've reached a small clearing. A good place to set up camp." He moved into the centre of what seemed to be a circle of logs and began making a fire with some deku sticks.

Sitting on one of the logs Saria titled her head upwards. The sky was a dark blue, stars sparkled faintly reminding her of the sprites that would twinkle and dance in the forest. "This reminds me of the times we spent camping out in the Lost Woods." She reminisced, smiling at the memories.

"I hope no sprites come along and try to steal my hat this time." Link grinned as the orange flames lit up before him.

"They did like to play with you a lot, Mido must have bribed some to."

"How do you bribe a sprite?" Link cocked his head to the side, standing, he stretched his arms causing himself to wince in pain. "Ugh being thrown against that tree didn't do me any favours."

"Come sit by here." Saria beckoned to the spot in front of where she was sitting. Hesitating but not stopping himself, Link sat on the ground with his back against her legs. Closing his eyes he sighed as she massaged his shoulders. "You always did have nice hair." She murmured more to herself than anyone when she took off his hat to make things easier. Taking one hand from his shoulder she stroked his golden hair, Rika's advice echoing through her mind. But there was no way he liked her in that way, then what was that kiss about? Time to say something.

_This is good_. Link thought to himself. Images of the previous evening flooding back to him. The lake, the sunset, that kiss. Neither had spoke of it since but he knew he had enjoyed it. What would she say if he brought it up? Would she flip it off, or would she feel the same? A rush of thoughts whirled through his brain, if he had been thinking any louder she probably would've easily heard him. He decided to go for it, the worst that could happen would be a slap in the face.

"Link I-"

"Saria I-"

They both said at the exact same time. Turning his head, he locked eyes with her just like they had on that evening. Everything each was about to say vanished from their minds. Leaning down Saria placed a hand on his face, their faces moved closer, this time the kiss wasn't as one sided, it was much more passionate. Taking her hand from his face she ran it through his hair.

_Mmm this is better than any slap. _Link thought happily.

_I would hope so_. Saria mentally replied. Breaking apart Link shook his head.

"How did you hear me thinking?"

"Our mental connection becomes so much stronger when we….uh...do that." She replied. "I was too surprised to try it at the lake.".

"Oh yeah, about that.." Link fidgeted nervously with his tunic, reaching for his hat he was stopped when Saria placed her hand on his.

"It was nice. I've been wanting to tell you something for awhile now…." She trailed off not knowing how to word her thoughts, "I've always had feelings for you in some way, friendship, family, an extension of myself. We were inseparable but it all seems to far behind us now. Then you had to leave, I knew it was going to happen, you were special after all, you still are. After being away from you for so long I guess I fell apart, the only thing keeping me sane was the hope that you'd contact me using my song each day. You came back eventually, I don't think I'd ever been happier. However, with your new discovered 'freedom' you left more often until we hardly saw each other in person." Pausing, she glanced at her fairy who was perched on one of the logs silently listening. She could sense his mood wasn't a pleasant one. "That kiss brought out those feelings in me that I'd been trying to push away for so long. The feelings that I love you in no way a Kokiri should feel for someone." She finished, hoping she hadn't messed everything up.

Link sat there staring at her, had Saria just said all of those things? She loved him? All the girls that had thrown themselves shamelessly at him, mainly Ruto and a few random girls that he had never met one day in the market, he had never expected this from Saria, the one he had secretly wanted to hear it from most.

"I've always liked you too in some way, of course I have, you're my best friend. The day I found out I'm really Hylian, it changed me. I could come and go as I please, there was a whole world out there waiting for me. But there was always that fact, you wouldn't be able to share it with me. It tore me apart, my best friend couldn't leave the forest, she couldn't grow with me. The real reason I didn't visit as much as I could wasn't just because I had so much 'hero' business to do, it was because it hurt too much to be reminded of how I was aging while you would remain as a child forever. But now you're here and it's so amazing, you're amazing, you're smart and caring and…" He didn't know whether to say the next part. "..You're beautiful. You were always the prettiest girl in the village, to me anyway. Now that you've grown a little it's even more noticeable. To be parted from you again would rip me into pieces. Basically, I'm saying….I…I love you too."

"Finally, I thought these speeches were never going to end." Nori said bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Link growled, he knew Nori could be awkward sometimes when he was involved with anything Saria did but this was ridiculous.

"Should've waited to get assigned to someone else." The fairy muttered.

"Nori." Saria calmly said, she had known his annoyance was growing right after she told him about the kiss by the lake but she couldn't work out why exactly.

"Why do you have to grow up?" His tiny voice raising drastically. "Why couldn't you just stay the same like the rest?"

"I'm sorry." Saria was near to tears, Nori could see this. Link was fuming, if he didn't know it would annoy Saria he would have given Nori a piece of his mind by now.

"No, I am." Nori replied. "I'm letting my own feelings get in the way, please forgive me. I'll leave you alone for a bit, I need to calm down." He quickly fluttered off into the woods, ashamed of hurting the person closest to him in the world.

"I must be a burden to him." Saria wiped her eyes. "He's right, if I was a normal Kokiri he wouldn't have to put up with so much trouble."

"But you're not normal and that's what makes you special." Link moved closer to her wrapping his arms around her. "And no matter what we'll never be apart again." He smiled gently. "Nori will be back when he's calmed down. We should get some sleep for now, Meldora awaits us tomorrow."

"You're right." Returning the smile she kissed him on the nose before taking out her sleeping bag. "Goodnight." Both slept peacefully that night.

** ---**

Opening her eyes, Saria awoke to an illuminated figure hovering over her.

"Nori." She said while stretching her arms.

"I'm so ashamed of my actions last night." He whispered. "You mean so much to me, as your guardian fairy it's my duty to make sure you live your life the way you want it. If Link is what you want then I won't stand in your way."

"That means a lot, I couldn't bear it if you were mad at me." Saria replied.

"Well I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere." He began tugging her sleeping bag from around her. "Now let's get going!"

"You're back then?" Link spoke sleepily.

"Hello Link." Nori floated over to the boy landing on the tip of his nose. "You better take good care of Saria, she's very important to me."

"She's important to me too and it's not like you won't be around to watch her yourself is it?" Link asked flicking the fairy off his nose.

"Yes…of course." Nori nodded. "I'll be here."

Jumping up, Link scowled when he noticed he didn't have his hat on. A mop of unruly blonde hair sat tangled all over his head. Brushing his hands through it he blushed. "Not a good start to the day, your girlfriend seeing you in such a mess." He stopped when he realised what he'd just said.

"Have we even discussed a title for what we are?" Saria grinned. "I quite like 'romantic interest', what do you think?" Her tone playful.

"Oh yes, Saria and I are romantic interests. I can see the odd looks now." Link mumbled. "You're just saying that to leave yourself open for other guys aren't you? Now that you know you're pretty. That's too bad because you're all mine."

"Ok I'll accept that offer." She threw him a flirtatious look that she didn't even know she could do.

"We'll continue this conversation later, I'll make sure of it. Meldora can't be far, we seriously need some breakfast." Link rolled up his sleeping bag and shoved it away.

After packing up they left the clearing, Meldora and food finally in reach.


	7. Down in the catacombs

Zelda sat quietly by a window in the sitting room. The room was still, the only sound came from the birds amongst the few trees planted around the castle. The morning sun cast a yellow glow over the grass causing the princess to squint when she looked in its direction. Sighing she turned to glance at the room, empty chairs, deafening silence, she was so lonely. She wondered if Link and Saria had arrived in Meldora yet, they should've been very close by now.

"Princess?" Impa's head popped around the door. "You have a visitor." Stepping aside she revealed the Gerudo leader, Nabooru. Slipping in, the Gerudo made herself at home in one of the armchairs.

"What can I do for you?" Zelda asked giving the Spirit Sage her full attention.

"Seeing as I forgot to give the kid another membership card I sent someone to help them along." The woman grinned impishly.

"….Someone?" Zelda was curious now.

"Just someone more familiar with the layout of Meldora, they should be fine." Nabooru twirled a strand of red hair around her finger. "Got any refreshments? I'm parched."

Zelda nodded then sighed, at least she wasn't alone anymore.

-

After a short walk the woods began to open out. A cobbled stone path lined the ground beneath them as a few trees were placed on the left side. Facing the right, Saria marvelled at the view, a large blue ocean stretched for miles, gulls flew silently over the water waiting for any lone fish to pounce on. The salty sea air tingled Saria's nose, this was the first time she'd been near the ocean. Link was shocked at how far out they had travelled.

"I'm surprised you were able to use that mask." She turned to Link, referring to the Zora Mask.

"So am I." He replied then wondered how she had managed to speak to that wolfos. "How did you communicate with the wolfos?"

Saria gave him a blank stare like it should have been obvious. "The Deku Tree taught certain members of the Kokiri how to talk to forest animals, since I will eventually become the Forest Sage it made sense for me to be one of them."

"Makes sense." Link admired the view, the water sparkled in the sunlight, waves lashed against the cliff side bringing in shells and small tektites with them. "Why was I never taught?" He wondered aloud. The path began to gradually slope upwards, the sea was now miles beneath them. Rounding a corner they arrived at a large metal wall, it stretched right across the path and into the trees, blocking intruders from entering. Examining the whole thing, Link sighed.

"How are we meant to get over this?" Saria pondered, running a hand along the cool metal. Peering over the edge of the cliff, she gulped; there was no way they could go around that side.

"Psst." An unfamiliar voice came out of nowhere. "Psst, over here." A Gerudo warrior walked over from within the trees. Glancing at the woman Link recognised what she was instantly, but had never met her before. She wore the typical Gerudo clothing, purple trousers with a skimpy purple top, carrying a traditional long wooden spear she smiled at them.

"What's one of you doing here?" Link asked, his tone somewhat icy. He didn't have a problem with the Gerudo race but he knew some of them still liked to practice their old ways, it was wise to be cautious around these women.

"Nice way to greet your assistance." She replied. Shifting her attention to the gate, she smirked. "I see they still have this contraption set up. You've reached the border between Balbana and Meldora, now just to get over it."

"And you know how?" Apart from Nabooru, Saria had never seen a Gerudo up close; even in her hazy memories, seeing something in person was always more interesting.

"Sure do." The woman pointed to her spear. "This wall was built to keep Hyruleans out, they aren't exactly banned from the kingdom but as you can see, they aren't welcomed. The wall was built to allow only these long Gerudo spears to be able to aid their user over." Taking a few steps backwards, she ran at the wall; flinging her weapon into the ground it propelled her over the wall. Repeating the action she landed neatly back in front of the pair.

"Hyruleans? So they don't like anyone from Hyrule, not just Hylians?" Link asked thinking what kind of discrimination they were going to face.

"Pretty much, although…" She glanced to Saria, "They may be a little more accepting of you cutie, it's very rare a Kokiri ventures out of the forest, let alone into Meldora. You may have a small Kokiri aura about you boy but they'll see through it with ease." She said casually to Link as if it wasn't a problem at all. Flicking her red hair from her face, she turned to leave. "I assume you know what to do now, see ya kids."

Link glared, was she just going to leave like that? Shrugging it off, he thought about what she had done. Bringing out his spear from Nabooru he stood it on the ground. It did resemble the one the woman had used perfectly, it was worth a shot.

"Will you be ok to do this?" Link motioned to Saria.

"Of course, no other way to get there." She replied determinedly. Her mind was a different story though, having never even touched a weapon such as the spear, she had no idea how to use it. What if she hurt someone else? Or herself even? She realised there was no one else in radius, only herself to worry about.

"Alright, I'll go first so you can see what to do." Link moved back a few feet to get a good running space. Holding the spear at the correct angle, he dashed towards the wall. Stabbing it into the solid ground, he flung himself and the spear over the wall. Landing clumsily on his feet, he grinned. "Stand back I'll chuck this over." Link slung the weapon like a javelin back to Saria.

"Got it." She mumbled, plucking it from the ground she stared at it. The wood felt dry underneath her fingers, but the wood wasn't the cause of the anxiety. The sharp metal point at the end gleamed in the light, it was almost taunting her.

"Something wrong?" Nori popped out of her pocket, sensing the girl had frozen he wanted to find out why.

"No, everything's fine." She semi-lied. Holding the spear the same way Link had, she braced herself. Running at the wall, she shoved the spear into the concrete, flinging herself upwards she unevenly tumbled over, crashing down face first.

"Saria!" Link ran over to her, kneeling down he helped her up.

"Remind me not to do that again." She rubbed her arm and face, the usual brightness in her eyes gone for the moment.

Link hated when she was unhappy, even for simple little things like this. Acting on impulse, he kissed her; pulling away he saw that smile. "There's the face I like to see."

"Link…" She tried not to blush but it was no good, this boy knew how to cheer her up.

-

He didn't know how long he'd been walking, he just knew he was sick of it. The ankle high grass rustled against him as he quietly strode along the path. They would be arriving shortly, he could feel it; then the fun would begin. Sliding a hand down to his belt he felt the hilt of a treasured weapon, the black handle fit perfectly into his pale hand. Taking it out, three purple stones glistened in the hilt, a sharp silver blade attached to it. Twirling the weapon expertly between his fingers, he smiled to himself. Far in the distance he could see them coming, time to prepare his entrance. Removing a rope from around his waist one could see that it had a sharp hook at the end, a grappling hook. Swinging himself up onto a tree branch, he waited.

Link was busily showing Saria how to use the boomerang as they walked.

"Remember, you have to be careful when these things come back to you, catching it the wrong way could seriously damage your hand." He explained.

This was the moment. Diving from the branch, he landed directly in front of them. Saria gasped while Link was so surprised he threw his arms up into the air, the boomerang flew out of his hand. Whizzing around in the air, the new comer narrowly avoided it, spinning back around he back flipped over it without even needing to look behind. Link was again so shocked he forgot to catch the thing, it whacked him hard in the face.

"I can see how it's dangerous." Saria commented trying her best not to laugh. Looking at the other boy she took in his appearance properly. He was tall, an inch or so taller than Link, his frame was slim, not very muscular but she guessed his could move like lightning. His hair was smartly spiked, the dark blue colour of it bringing out his pale complexion. Sharp red eyes watched her and Link carefully, his focus was amazing. The weirdest thing she noticed were his clothes, skin-tight navy leggings, his top was a similar material to the leggings but had different shades of blues patched all over it. A picture of a piercing red eye was set in the centre of the shirt, Saria could almost feel it tearing into her soul. His face wasn't covered with anything so it was easy to see the cocky smirk he was giving them. She knew she recognised the race he was from, the word was on the tip of her tongue.

Link rubbed his aching face, finally recovering he gave the boy a dirty look. "What's a Sheikah doing here?"

That was the word Saria had been looking for.

"Name's Taj." His voice was calm and yet held an air of confidence. "Looks like you two could use some guidance."

"You didn't answer the question." Link narrowed his eyes. "I thought all of the Sheikah race apart from Impa were wiped out ages ago."

"Lady Impa?" Taj spoke with an admiring tone. "Ah yes, she is a fine woman, shame she got brainwashed by Hylians." He spat disgustedly on the ground. "Sheikahs degrading themselves, serving those assholes. We're equal to them, not inferior!" He surveyed Link up and down, scanning him with his eyes. "If I didn't want to aid you, I'd punch you right now." Moving his eyes onto Saria, his angered expression faded slightly. "A Kokiri? What're you doing with this trash? I'd get out while I could."

Link balled his hands into fists, he wanted to lash out so badly. "She doesn't have to listen to you. Neither of us do, I don't know who you are or why you dislike Hylians so much, please just get lost, we're busy."

"Don't want my advice then?" Taj swung his grappling hook around his arm.

"We have a map." Link kept his back turned to hide his agitation. All of his life he had been made fun of for not being a Kokiri, now this jerk was having a go at him for being a race he had finally accepted himself as. The Goddesses could be so cruel.

"I suggest you head to the catacombs." Was the last thing Taj said before vanishing into the trees once more. Roughly pulling out the map, Link checked for any area that resembled catacombs, there was a graveyard marked in grey not far from them.

"What's a catacomb?" Saria followed his gaze on the map, a big red X was just above the graveyard.

"I'm not entirely sure, I heard they have something to do with the dead." Link mumbled, scrunching up the map, he made sure that boy wasn't still watching them from someplace.

"His language was….different." Saria wasn't accustomed to hearing such words as 'asshole' even if it was only a mild curse.

"Yeah." Link began to laugh. "I remember when Mido said that to the Great Deku Tree, he got such a beating!"

"How did Mido learn words like that?"

"Erm…uh...ehehe…I told him to say it. Hey don't look at me like that!" Link was a little afraid of Saria's serious expression. "One of the skullkids taught me it."

"Tsk tsk, such vulgarity." Nori hovered above them shaking his tiny head.

"Oh shut up." Link thought it best not to tell her the other 'interesting' words he'd learnt on his travels, after all, he wanted to keep his ability to use the bathroom with ease.

The path continued to snake onwards, fresh sea air thoroughly awaking the pair. They had yet to actually see any amazing technology, the wall wasn't very impressive in Link's opinion. Each new scene was thrilling to Saria, the sea, the fact that there was more than one forest in the world, the different kinds of people, the blue sky! As much as she loved her home, it was nice not to have to see canopies of trees crushing her in day after day. Link smiled, he loved all of her fascinated expressions and questions. She had always been inquisitive, now she could see the world for herself firsthand.

The trees soon died away, a tall stone wall took their place. Further along, a black barred gate appeared, a grey box with a red button was fitted on the wall near it.

"What the heck is this?" Link took a closer look, pressing the button he expected the gate to open, no such luck. Pressing it again, he held it a few seconds longer, still nothing. It was rare for Link to find something he couldn't work out how to use, his frustration started to show.. A gruff voice yelled from within the box.

"Damn kids, don't you know how to use this?"

Link's eyes nearly popped out.

"It…spoke." Saria stated the obvious.

An old man approached them through the graveyard, he wore dull morbid colours of greys and blacks, the morning light bounced off his balding head.

_Great, another old grave keeper. _Link thought to himself.

The man eyed them, then snorted. Moving in close, he sniffed at them.

"Hyruleans eh? No wonder you didn't know how to work my communication system, you expect everything to work magically." Huffing, he unlocked the gate, a creaking sound scraped out as he dragged it along the ground. The graveyard was quite large, headstones of all different sizes littered the grassy area. Groups of trees grew on one side where the border of the woods began, crows perched themselves on the branches, glaring down upon the dead.

The keeper lead them to his humble home, a minuet two roomed house in the centre of the yard.

"So what can I do for you youngsters?" He set himself on one of the flat rocks outside his house.

"We were hoping you'd let us into the catacombs." Saria kept close to Link, this place made her feel uncomfortable, she wasn't used to dealing with the dead and had never seen a graveyard before.

"Feel free, however, you'll have to wait until noon." The man glanced at the sun, it was nearly at its highest point so noon wouldn't be far off. "Be warned, the spirits aren't very friendly to those who enter their domain."

"Why must we wait until noon?" Link questioned the keeper.

"Only then will the spirits open up their doors, they sleep in the morning. He said calmly. "Just go down the path there, you can't miss the giant rock of an entrance."

Thanking the grave keeper they headed down the crumbling path. Saria read along some of the headstones as they passed. Most of them ended in the same way '_Died in battle'_.

"This must be it." Link stared at the massive stone mound, it must've stretched back a good way. A big round rock was blocking the entrance, giving it a push, Link gave up realising they'd have to wait. Moving away he admired some of the flowers visitors had placed on the graves, Nori joined him. Saria stood leaning by the entrance. The sun reached the top of the sky, the door rolled open. Spinning around Saria took a peek inside. It was pitch black, there was a high step down to enter, a gust of ice cold air hit her in the face. She tried to step back but it was no use, a face of a screeching skull formed in the darkness, chanting in an unknown language it pulled her into the catacombs; the rock closed the entrance once more.

"Saria!" Nori yelled, he couldn't believe he'd let that happen.

"Huh?" Link turned to find she was gone. Running to door he pounded on it with his fists. "Saria! Let her out you monsters!" A string of curses followed, how could he be so stupid?

"Look what you've done now!" Nori shrieked, angrily buzzing around Link's head.

"Me? How is it my fault?" The boy snapped, sending another fist into the door he stopped, there had to be another way in.

Saria picked herself up off the damp stone floor, the room was dark, eerie noises danced along the corridors. Looking behind her she noticed the door was shut tight, someone or something obviously wanted her here.

_I wish Nori was here, his light would be helpful._ Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, she could make out shapes, outlines of…Din knows what were sitting near a wall. Squinting, she screamed when she made out a skeleton, its hollow eyes paralysed the girl with fear. Her head began to throb, how many more of these flashbacks was she going to get?

_Kakariko village on fire, villagers running for their lives, an awful monster flew over them. The graveyard, the Shadow Temple, undead creatures lunged at their victims, tearing the flesh from their bones. A haunted barge sailed serenely along misty water, stalfos knights laughing, swinging their weapons. An invisible beast banged on a drum, the noise deafened her. Link was right, this was a terrible sight._

"Saria!" He kept calling through the stone, hearing her scream was driving him insane with worry.

"Need a little help?" A calm voice spoke.

Link grit his teeth, he was not in the mood for this guy again. Looking up he saw Taj laying on top of the mound of rocks, the usual cocky grin plastered on his face.

"I don't need anything from you." Link scowled.

"Then you won't want to know there are a few cracks up here, big enough for a glutton like you to squeeze through." The Sheikah laughed when he saw Link's offended expression.

"This is all muscle." Link retorted. Clambering up on the rocks, he shoved Taj violently out of the way. Running along the uneven roof of the catacombs, he searched for anything he could use to slip into. Pausing, he attempted to mentally contact Saria. "Damn it!" He growled, the dead spirits were blocking him.

"You have a sword, why don't you use it?" Taj rolled his eyes, back flipping from the rock, he vanished again.

"Hurry up!" Nori bashed Link's arm, "Anything could be happening to her in there!"

"I'm trying!" Link unsheathed his sword to start inspecting the rocks, he would find the weakest point if he had to stay there all day.

Hurrying out of the first room, Saria stumbled into a dimly lit maze. A green mist floated about, the haze meant she could faintly see where she was going. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared, in the forest she was known to be brave, not many of the Kokiri would travel into the Lost Woods, but this was different, she was spiritually connected to the forest, this place was the roaming ground of the unsatisfied dead.

"Why hello there young lady." A raspy voice croaked. "Did you come to play with us?" A hunched figure slithered around a corner, facing her, Saria nearly fainted. The only skin remaining on the figure was on one side of its face, even that was hanging lopsidedly off. Emotionless sockets zoned in on her, boned hands reached forward pointing in her direction, straw-like hair clung to its forehead. Saria tried not to gag, the putrid smell was enough to kill a fully grown Hylian.

"I was about to leave." She managed to say, trying to step back, she found her legs were frozen, had fear finally taken her over?

"Leave?" The thing smirked mischievously. "My dear, nobody ever leaves here. I should know, I was the last in!" It cackled loudly. "I haven't eaten for decades, today, that will change." It clicked its rotting fingers. An oval shadow appeared above Saria, before she could attempt to move, a wall master swooped down grabbing her by the collar. "Dinner time!"

Link kept hacking away at the rocks, wiping the sweat from his forehead, he released his building temper on some loose rubble. Moving along, he picked another spot, stabbing the blade into it, he tried to wedge open a gap. This time the rocks slid apart, a small gap was revealed.

"At last." He dug at it some more until the gap was big enough. Sheathing his weapon, he slid down the hole. Tumbling into a small room, he coughed, a cloud of dust had fallen in with him. Brushing himself off, he checked the room, the streak of light coming from the hole aided him in seeing what was there. A coffin sat in one corner, cobwebs sprawled messily over it. In another corner was….something.

"Come on." Nori fluttered off, he didn't have time to waste admiring the sights.

Link was ready to follow when something wrapped itself tightly around his middle and arms.

"Ugh, what the?" He cried in shock, the material surrounding him looked oddly familiar….no…it couldn't be. It was strips of human flesh, rotting human flesh! The cause of this problem was leaning against a wall, a decomposed smiling body, flesh shot out of its fingers, squeezing Link to death seemed to be its goal. He needed to think fast, his arms were immobile so his weapons were out of the question. Dashing at the body, he jump-kicked it, the thing loosened its grip giving Link the chance to grab his sword. With a few slashing motions it was destroyed.

Kicking the remains out of his path, the boy ran out of the room. Swiftly running down a gentle slope he heard another scream. Skidding around the next corner, he was greeted with the scene of a wall master nearly choking Saria with a flustered Nori flapping everywhere and a thing of some sorts laughing hysterically. Reaching for one of his throwing stars that Impa had given him, he tossed it at the wall master. The hand-like creature was instantly stunned, Saria fell to the floor with a thump, Link rushed over to her making sure she was alright, he moved in front. No one was touching his Saria again if he could prevent it.

"Silly boy, you had to spoil my fun didn't you?" The figure grumbled.

"I'll spoil more than that if you move another inch." Link threatened.

"I don't think so." The thing raised its arms in the air, a moment later the pair found themselves twirling through total darkness. Spiralling downwards, they braced themselves for impact.

Fortunately, they landed on a soft patch of weeds. Taking in their surroundings, they gasped. The room, or more appropriately described cave was a large circular one. In the centre, a large pool of bright green acid sat gurgling and bubbling, the heat emitting from it could've been even warmer then the lava of Death Mountain.

A high pitched laugh erupted from the pool, a cloaked figure shot out from within the liquid. Flying around the room, it cart wheeled and somersaulted above their heads. Hovering close by, it stopped so they could get a better look. The figure which was probably male, wore a black cloak, pure black rags and black shoes. His face was painted white, black rings neatly drawn around his gleaming yellow eyes. Thin hands popped out of his tattered sleeves, a devilish smirk crept onto his lips. The feature that caught both teens' attention the most was the sparkling gold pendent he wore as a necklace.

"Welcome to my humble abode." His light weedy voice rang out proudly. "I wasn't expecting you so soon but that's no problem. The show must go on!" With a sweeping motion of one hand, he lit a row of candles behind him. "I am Lord Carculous of the Meldora Catacombs and you, are about to be dead."

"Nice meeting you too." Link snorted.

Carculous scanned them both with his beady eyes, weapon user…magic user…yes. He spontaneously lifted Saria into the air, bringing her closer to him, he clapped his hands.

"Magic users annoy me, you'll be out of my way up here, but to be sure, let us test your powers." He sent her plummeting towards the acid.

Link screamed, Saria concentrated but she couldn't do anything. Why weren't her powers working?

Carculous brought her to a halt right before she could burn to her death.

"Ah, so your powers haven't fully developed yet I see, good for me."

"Leave her alone!" Link snarled.

"Poor boy, I haven't forgotten about you. Weapon users are always so much fun to play with."

Link drew his bow, he'd shoot this guy clean out of existence. Placing an arrow in, he shot. The outcome was very unexpected. Carculous used Saria as a human shield, dragging her in front of him, the arrow shot directly into her leg.

Link dropped the bow, he wanted to throw himself into the pool for what had just happened.

"It's ok Link, I know you didn't mean it." Saria winced from the pain, blood slowly trickled down her leg from the wound, the arrow still stuck in it.

"I'll never use that wretched bow again." Link was having a mental battle with himself, he wouldn't put Saria at risk by using another long range weapon.

"Oh my, attacking your girlfriend now are you? You evil little boy." Carculous chuckled with glee.

"He's not evil!" Saria snapped uncharacteristically for her.

"He shot at you darling, that has 'evil' written all over it."

Link shook his head, Saria was right. He wasn't evil and he hadn't meant to do that. "It was a mistake, a dire one that I'll do my best to make up for."

"You're boring me now, time for the real fun." Carculous raised his arms once more, Link twitched when he realised what that freak was doing. His weapons started flying from his tunic, hookshot, deku nuts, boomerang, them all. Lastly, was his sword, it floated off his back. With a flick of the wrist, Carculous commanded the sword to whack Link on the head. The catacomb Lord laughed watching the sword chasing Link, no matter where the boy moved, the sword followed.

"This is ridiculous." Link mumbled, then an idea came to him, he couldn't attack in this form, but maybe another? Carculous hadn't managed to take his masks since they weren't classed as weapons. Finding the Deku Scrub mask, he smiled. "This will be embarrassing even if it does save our butts."

The powers of the mask consumed his body, he shrunk to half his size. A moment later a small Deku boy emerged from the light.

Saria caught on to what Link was planning. Clutching at her slingshot, she quickly fired a deku seed at Carculous' head. The surprise threw the lord off guard. Link took that time to shoot a series of snot bubbles, each slammed into Carculous with immense force. This weakened the hold he had over Link's weapons. Morphing back into his normal form, he waited for the hookshot to float into his grasp. Pressing the button, the springy chain zoomed out, gripped onto Carculous and dragged him back to Link.

"Hello." Link said pleasantly, still holding Carculous in his grip, he charged up his sword. Performing spin attack after spin attack, Carculous' pained screams echoed throughout the cave. Ending with a carefully placed jump attack, Link let go of the now decapitated mess formally known as Lord Carculous.

The pool of acid evaporated, Link managed to catch Saria as she fell. Looking at the pile of ash left, they both saw what they'd come for, the first pendant laying on the filthy floor.


	8. Soli City

Link crawled over to get a better look at the pendant. Its golden exterior sparkled slightly in the dim light, the chain had snapped off but that wasn't of importance. Picking it up, Link rubbed it against his tunic before pocketing it, turning around he saw Saria struggling to stand.

"Here, let me help." He walked over to where she was trying to get up, Nori attempted some simple healing spells on her leg. "Those won't work." Link explained, the fairy huffed but flew aside, helping Saria was the main concern. Link gently removed the arrow from her leg, tearing off a piece of his tunic sleeve, he bandaged the wound tightly.

"You'll need a new tunic soon." Saria smiled warmly, Link just stared at the ground, how could she be so nice to him after what he did? Glancing over at the bow which was still laying on the floor, he glared at the weapon, he didn't want to use it ever again.

"We need to climb this wall to get out." Link mumbled, he guessed the hookshot was their best option. "You should climb on my back."

Saria looked at the bow, "don't you want your bow?"

Link paused, the bow had been an invaluable weapon to him in the past, he was usually very skilled with it, not anymore. "I want to snap it but apart from that not really."

Limping over to the bow, Saria managed to kneel down and collect it. Moving over to Link she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You may need it one day." She handed it to him.

Shakily reaching out, Link took it just to keep her happy, he had no intention of ever using it again. Clutching at his hookshot, he scanned the cliff-face, there were some protruding ledges at the top, hopefully, the hookshot would clasp onto one. Saria held his shoulders as he aimed the weapon at a ledge. Fortunately it hooked itself onto one of them so up they shot.

Clambering up they arrived back in that corridor, however, all of the enemies had vanished leaving a clear path for them to walk through. Walking a little, Link noticed Saria was still struggling to move.

"You can't go on like this, we'll buy some more red potion when we reach a shop but until then I'm carrying you." He insisted. Saria raised her hands to refuse his offer but soon realised that offer was more of a command.

"Are you sure you can carry me?" Saria asked over his shoulder as she held onto them.

"Of course." Link turned his head to face her, "believe me, Ruto is a lot heavier than you and she made me carry her on my head." He shuddered at the memories of Lord Jabu Jabu. Saria sighed, sliding her arms around his neck, she kissed his cheek.

"I'd never ask you to do that." She brushed some of his hair out of his face. "Now, as much as I love being carried by you we should go find a potion."

When they headed back in the coffin area, Link groaned, the hole he had jumped through was quite a distance from the ground. It didn't seem like the hookshot would help this time.

"Need a hand?" A smooth voice echoed down though the hole. Taj appeared above them swinging his grappling hook lazily in the air.

"That would be nice." Saria affirmed, Link scowled, he hated to admit when he needed help.

Taj tossed the rope in to them while he held tightly to the other end. Link took a step back motioning for Saria to climb first. Being careful not to catch the hook, she clung onto the rope, with a few tugs, Taj managed to pull her out easily.

"Ok, I'll bring up your chunky mass next." The Sheikah smirked at Link, Saria frowned, she knew how much Link didn't like being picked on even if it was only a joke.

"At least I'm not a scrawny beanpole!" The blond boy irritably shot back. Grabbing the rope, he waited to be brought out, it took a little longer than Saria but eventually he made it. "Thanks." He mumbled his gratefulness to Taj.

"No problem." Taj smiled, his expression changed when Link took out their first pendant to get a better view of it. "Don't open that!" He lunged for the trinket, only to fall flat on his face when Link swiftly side-stepped his movements.

"What do you think you're doing?" Link asked, his grip on the pendant tightening.

"Just don't open it." Taj spat out a piece of dirt that had wedged its way into his mouth. Pushing himself up, he gave Link a deadly serious look.

Link contemplated the situation for a moment, they had no idea who this Taj even was, could he be a spy for whatever new enemy wanted them out of the picture?

"For all we know, you could want to stop us from helping the Forest Temple." Link accused, ignoring Taj's pleas he went to open the pendant, however, he found he couldn't. Examining the item closer he noticed a small keyhole cut into the front.

"Where can we find keys?" Saria wondered aloud, taking the pendant from Link she got her first proper look at it.

Taj sighed with relief, as long as they couldn't open them everything would be fine. "Anyway, you look worn out, why not head for the nearest city to rest up?" He craftily tried to change the subject.

Both Saria and Link saw the sense in his words. "Where's the nearest town, city, village, anything with shops and an inn from here?" Link asked.

"Nearest place is Soli City, the capital of Meldora. It's about a half hour walk from here." Taj explained. "I'll be going that way myself, so if you are too we may as well travel together."

Saria could see Link's face twisting into one of a mixture of annoyance and disappointment. Walking all that way with her on his back would be a strain.

"I can try to walk from here." She said quietly.

"No, it's ok." Link replied sternly, "I don't want you hurting yourself anymore." With that settled, he helped her down the rocks, Taj strolled silently on ahead. Reluctantly positioning herself on Link's back once more, Saria could feel his tense muscles. Not only his muscles, but his general attitude changed when Taj was around. He obviously didn't trust the Sheikah, neither did she but there was no point getting angry over it.

_Did my massage go to waste last night? _She mentally sent to Link who began to blush.

_No, but if you remember we didn't get very far._ This time it was Saria's turn to blush. The pair continued their private conversation as Link walked slowly after Taj.

* * *

The afternoon breeze ruffled the tall blades of grass as they travelled along the cobbled path. Golden brown turrets poked out of the city in the distance meaning they were over half way there. 

Glancing out onto the fields, Link noticed a group of metal-type figures working in the grass, some were cutting it while others appeared to be planting seeds. They were the same shape as Hylians, two arms, two legs, a head, but their metal bodies looked so much bulkier and stronger. Shining mirror panels clung to the tops of their heads, Link had no idea what they could be for.

"Those are the Solar Knights." Taj said to answer Link's questioning stare. "See those square panels on their heads? Those are solar panels, it means they get their energy from the sunlight."

"That's some interesting technology." Saria slid off Link's back to get a better view, "one of those would be useful to clean the temple."

"Some are programmed to do work such as taking care of the land, others are programmed to frighten away Hyruleans, if you're unlucky enough, you may run into those on your journey." Taj put his hands behind his head then carried on walking.

"Climb back on." Link sighed, he hoped they wouldn't encounter those knights anytime soon.

"I'll walk from here." Saria used a tone that said he shouldn't dare argue with her. "I'll be fine if we take our time." Taking his hand, they carried on along the path.

* * *

Finally, they arrived at the entrance to Soli City. Saria marvelled at the giant illuminated golden sign that hung on an arch over the entrance. Even Link was impressed, he thought Termina was far ahead but this place took it to another level. 

The city itself was full of the usual hustle and bustle of daily life. People hurried along the smooth cemented streets, some entered small shops embedded at the street sides while others wandered through minding their own business. Enormous solar panels were stuck to the side of most of the large buildings, the sunlight sparkled brightly off them.

"This whole place must be solar powered." Link pointed to one panel, his attention quickly swayed as a gentle gust of wind nearly blew his hat off. A clacking sound above them distracted him, glimpsing up he saw some sort of track, a thing with carriages and wheels was whizzing along it, it seemed to be carrying people.

"There goes the train, goes around the city on the hour, every hour." Taj interrupted their awed staring. "I'll be leaving you for a few hours, catch you later, maybe." He smirked then disappeared into the crowd.

"At last." Link mumbled, "let's find a potion shop."

"You could fit the whole Kokiri village in here with plenty of room to spare!" Saria exclaimed, at first she had thought Hyrule Market was big, it was tiny compared to this! Link had to literally drag her around the streets, she wanted to stop to look at everything. Saria wasn't meant to be a shop obsessed girl!

"I was enhancing my experience!" She defended herself.

"Sure." Link grinned, spotting a shop with a potion sign on the door, he pulled her inside.

An elderly woman sat behind a dusty counter, the room was a dim purple, a few candles burnt in the background, their strong scents filling the room.

"Could we have one red potion please?" Link asked, digging through his wallet he prepared to bring out a handful of rupees.

"That will be forty ebelons please." She snidely answered, she knew they were Hyruleans the moment they entered.

"What's an ebelon?" Saria asked leaning on the counter.

The woman pointed to a sign by her side, it read 'We only accept the currency of Meldora'. A picture of a pile of polished oval stones sat under the words, each was a different colour and size.

"No ebelons, no potion." The woman firmly said. Link growled, it was going to be harder than he'd imagined to get by in this city.

"Where are we going to get these ebelons?" He pondered aloud after they'd left the shop.

"Did I hear that question?" A mysterious voice rang out above the crowd. Suddenly, a brightly robed man appeared near them, he shockingly resembled the happy mask salesman, except this guy wore a long light blue overcoat and his hair was jet black, he did however have that same creepy smile.

"Whoa, do you know the happy mask salesman?" Link cautiously asked, one was enough, now there were two?

"Can't say I do." The man chuckled, "I am from Hyrule though, I run the only Hyrulean inn in this city."

Saria gave him a funny look. "Why would you start a business in a place where people hate Hyruleans?"

"Very good question my dear." He glanced into the clear evening sky then back to them. "And the only answer for that is, a challenge! I wanted to see if I could become successful in Meldora, so far I am doing quite well. If you need somewhere to stay that accepts rupees, my inn is just down the way, I haven't the funds for a sign right at the moment, my building is the one with the red door. Hope to see you soon!" Flinging his coat behind him, he skipped merrily away.

Link's stomach rumbled loudly, neither had eaten since the day before, all of the catacomb exploring had caused them to forget about eating.

"Food would be good." Saria agreed with his stomach. Link realised she was still limping a little but she insisted they should eat before anything else.

"Okay, I'll race you there!" Link yelled then ran down the street, Saria put her hands on her hips and pouted.

"How does he expect me to run?"

* * *

Skidding to a halt at the end of the street, Link found two similar buildings, both with dark red doors, neither had a sign. Knocking on the first he received no answer, pushing it open he was greeted with a rather…different scene. 

The room was very dark, flashing lights span around on the ceiling, groups of people sat drinking at tables, their attention was centred on a stage in the front of the room. A slender young woman clad in skimpy sparkling clothes was dancing seductively around a pole. Link's eyes nearly popped out, his mouth dropped open, his face burning a furious red. This couldn't be the inn, could it?

"What are you doing?" Saria came up behind him, peering through the door, her face turned into one of disgust. "I didn't know you liked this sort of thing." Her voice was edgy with a slight tint of annoyance in it.

"Huh? Aaah no, it's not like that!" Link flailed his arms wildly in the air. "I-I-I just opened the nyaahh." He minced his words as another piece of the action within the door seeped its way into the corner of his eye. Slamming it shut, he took a deep breath.

"It's alright, I'm just your girlfriend, no big deal." Saria turned her back on him and stomped off next door, an amused smile plastered on her face, Link could be so cute when he was flustered.

Opening the inn door, Saria got a warm welcome from the man. Link stumbled after her, a lost puppy expression glued to his face.

"Ah, there you are!" The man smiled happily.

"Sorry we took so long, my boyfriend found a distraction." Saria smirked wickedly.

"Oh? The building next door I gather?" The man shuffled over behind the counter. "Quite a place isn't it?"

"Oh yes." Saria nodded.

"It was a mistake!" Link blurted out nervously. Saria stared at him then began to laugh.

"I'm sorry Link, I was only joking with you."

"Anyway," the man interrupted. "I'll book you in yes? You'll find that I've taken full advantage of the Meldoran technology to make your stay a comfortable time. Dinner will be served shortly, please enjoy."

* * *

"That was a great meal." Saria commented as they entered their room. 

The room was of medium size, two single beds were set in the centre, glass double doors took the place of a window. The door led out onto a small balcony which overlooked the busy streets. Sitting on a bed, Link found a strange looking device, letting curiosity get the better of him, he pushed one of the buttons on it. The bed immediately folded up taking him with it.

"Gah!" He shouted in terror. Pressing the button again, the bed sprung back down.

"What in the world?" Saria giggled. Opposite the beds was another door, turning the handle she glanced inside. It was a bathroom, the thing that caught her eye was the shower, switching it on, she was amazed at how it worked.

Link poked his head around the door. "They have a shower in Hyrule Castle, it's a handy thing to have."

"Mind if I try it out?" She asked testing the water to see it in action.

"Fine with me." Link remained standing there, his eyes shifted back and forth.

"Can I have some privacy please?" Saria folded her arms.

"What? I thought I could stay and watch." Link joked getting a towel thrown in his face. Closing the door he looked at Nori perched on the bed, the fairy shook his head disapprovingly. Link shrugged it off, he needed to get some ebelons fast. Messaging Saria to tell her where he was going, the boy left the room.

* * *

The streets of Soli City at night were similar to those of the day, clusters of people walked along, laughing and talking amicably. Shops closed giving way to the pubs and clubs, a thing Link wasn't accustomed to seeing. He had been tiredly wandering around the city for awhile. The owner of the inn had been kind enough to let him trade most of his rupees for ebelons, unfortunately, the potion shop had closed. 

Rounding a corner he bumped head first into none other than Taj. The Sheikah steadied himself from the impact, glancing at Link, he smirked.

"What're you doing?" Link asked rubbing his head.

"I could ask you the same thing." Taj crossed his arms, "I was just talking a quiet walk."

"Oh, I was looking for a red potion." Link replied, although, why he was telling Taj he had no idea.

"You mean one of these?" Taj pulled out a small bottle containing the red liquid, Link's eyes widened, but there had to be a catch right? "I bought it in the potion shop earlier, if you have the ebelons, it's yours."

Link handed him the correct change, taking the bottle he placed it in a safe pocket. "How do you get accepted by these people, you are from Hyrule aren't you?"

Taj turned to leave him, pocketing the ebelons, he shrugged. "Who said I'm from Hyrule?"

"Well, are you?" Link tried to ask but got no answer, the tall boy vanished into the darkness.

Saria stood silently by the balcony, the cool night air was so refreshing. Sensing a small presence near her, she turned her head to see Nori laying on her shoulder, she smiled then continued to stare at the sky.

"What's it like to fly." She absentmindedly asked. Nori drowsily stirred, blinking a few times, he answered.

"It's great, gives you a sense of freedom, you can go anywhere you want, do anything you could dream of."

She nodded then glanced into the streets, Link was heading back to the inn, she wondered if he had the potion.

"I wish he had waited for me, he likes to do things alone doesn't he?"

"I guess that's what he's used to." Nori replied, floating from her shoulder, he stretched tiredly. "I'm going to sleep, goodnight Saria."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Trumpets blared throughout the city, people cheered, something big was happening. Waking from the noise, Saria slid out of bed, the potion had done a good job healing her leg. Opening the doors she stepped out onto the balcony. Below, large floats moved slowly along the streets, some drawn by horses while others appeared to be moving on their own. Balloons drifted up from the crowd as exotic dancers performed on a few of the floats. Others carried a variety of animals, one cage had a strange looking bird, its rainbow feathers caught the Kokiri's attention but the rest of the carriage it was held in hid its full body. 

Link came up behind her, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Looking down at the festivities he too was amazed. A sea of colours passed before them, he knew all about carnivals and parades, to see one in person was even better than they sounded.

"Look over there." Saria directed his attention to the final float. It was smaller than the rest, a light blue colour covered the main part. On top, a purple throne sat, golden material lined the edges symbolising the person on it must be important. A thin woman sat upon the throne, a long lavender gown wrapped around her frail body. Her skin was as pale as snow, long slender fingers rested on the throne's arms while dark purple eyes surveyed the goings on around her. Curled white hair was set under a spiked silver crown, expensive looking gems embedded into the sides. At either side of her sat two very pale looking people, they held fans to use on her command.

Saria gasped as she saw this, "those are Hylians…" The girl came to this conclusion when she noticed the average person in Meldora didn't have pointed ears unlike the usual Hylian. However, these two men did have pointed ears, they looked half dead. How could another living being treat other people like slaves?

"Maybe they're being paid." Link noticed the sad expression on Saria's face, his attempt to cheer her up didn't work.

"We should try to find some sort of map for those keys, if the pendants have one, the keys must too." She changed the subject.

"I say we try the castle." Link suggested.

"And get ourselves killed in the process?" Saria frowned, what was Link thinking?

Link grinned, "the floats are going to the castle if my guess is right, we just have to get ourselves on one. There must be something we can use in their library."

"That's crazy!" Saria snapped, Link could be impulsive at times but this was ridiculous. As much as she wanted a map, she wanted to live more.

"She's right." Nori butted in, he couldn't let Saria do something like that.

"I honestly don't see another way." Link had a lot of experience with sneaking into castles, he was sure they could pull it off. "Trust me." He used the guilt trip card.

Saria sighed, she had a gut feeling she'd regret this. "Fine, let's go." Nori was not amused but there wasn't much he could do to stop them.

Leaving the inn they ran along the streets to catch up with the parade. Arriving near the castle, they paused. A guard was opening the main doors "Now presenting her Ladyship Empress Coral of the Ebelon continent!" He announced to the crowds. The pale woman waved a hand to acknowledge the people before stepping from her float. The castle itself was massive, golden turrets peeked high into the air, solar panels were spread over the golden brown walls as the Meldoran Royal family's crest shone proudly over the main doors. The symbol was a golden sun, rays spiked out all the way around it.

Link scanned the floats, there had to be one they could use. He spotted the exotic dancers, long orange dresses, bright yellow wigs, they'd be perfect, even if he'd die from the embarrassment of wearing a dress. Grabbing Saria's hand they moved through the crowds. Making sure no one was looking, they ran up behind the float.

"Sorry about this." Link whispered, taking out his slingshot he knocked each of the dancers unconscious. Jumping up, he groaned, this idea might not be so good after all. Stripping the dancers, they quickly picked up a blanket that had been laying on the float. Placing the girls on the street floor, the pair slung the blanket over them.

Saria struggled to keep herself from laughing when she saw Link in his new disguise.

"You don't look much better." He smiled. Both wore the orange dresses over their usual clothes with puffy yellow wigs, no one would ever guess who they really were. The float started to move towards the castle doors.

"Quick, dance!" Saria hissed, "we must be the entertainment."

Link didn't have a clue what to do, Saria took his hand and began swinging him around. The two span around in a circle for the next few moments hoping their little display would pass.

Soon they were in. The floats stopped, that woman must have been speaking with the king in another room. Now was the perfect chance to get off unnoticed. Leaping off, they ran up the closest set of stairs. Link peered into each room, where could a library be?

At last, on the second floor they found a room full of books, anyone would assume it was the library.

"Where are we meant to begin looking?" Saria wondered, there were so many books. Browsing the shelves, she lost all hope, every book was written in Meldoran. Link also gave up, this was a bad plan.

Suddenly loud footsteps approached the room, a burley guard entered, seeing what he thought to be two girls he shook his big head.

"You shouldn't be in here ladies." His rough voice spoke up. "I should report you for trespassing but if you do right by me, I'll do right by you." He winked and touched the arm of the one nearest him who happened to be Link.

"Don't touch me!" Link shrieked, he forgot to mask his voice, things just went from bad to worse. Puling away, his wig tumbled off revealing his pointed ears.

The guard swiftly called for backup, shoving Link against a wall he handcuffed him tightly. Another guard soon arrived, doing the same to Saria, the two were led down into the dungeons. Being chained to walls in a pitch black room hadn't been part of the plan.

* * *

An hour passed, total silence. Saria stared at the stone floor, since her eyes had adjusted to the darkness she could see outlines of small animals scurrying around the room. Nori flew out of her wig, inspecting the chains, he tried some spells on them, nothing worked. 

"You're useless." Link muttered, his wig was itching his face terribly. Why did they have to put it back on him?

"It was your idea to do this." Saria reminded him, the strong chains dug harshly into her wrists.

"Not like I wanted to be chained to a wall in some circus freak's dress!" He thrashed about trying to loosen them causing himself more pain instead.

A short figure started bouncing up and down outside the dungeon door. "You're gonna pay, you're gonna pay!" It chanted over and over. A second figure appeared by it. Opening the door one of the guards entered, moving to Saria he unchained her.

"What're you going to do with her?" Link growled.

"Never you mind punk." The guard shoved Saria out of the door leaving an anxious Link alone in the dark.


	9. Awakening

A/N: Shameless advert ahead. If you like LinkxSaria or WWxOoT crossovers then check out my other fic A Future Past. End shameless advertising.

* * *

The guard harshly shoved Saria up the winding stone stairs, where he was ushering her, she had no idea. Link's angered shouts could still be heard echoing up from the dungeons, it touched her that he was so concerned but she did worry that he'd end up hurting himself with such a temper. 

_Calm down Link, I'm okay._ She messaged him in the hope he'd stop wearing his voice out.

_Alright, but if they hurt you I'll…I'll…_ He trailed off thinking of the worst possible torture he could imagine for them.

While Link was preoccupied with his thoughts, Nori quickly briefed Saria on royalty. Since she had never gotten the chance to meet the king of Hyrule, she didn't know what to expect if, as both she and Nori had guessed by now, the guard was taking her to the king.

Arriving at the top of the staircase, the guard pushed open the wooden door that led to a grand hallway near the castle entrance. Handcuffing one of Saria's hands to a post, he told her to wait there.

"Disgusting." Nori hissed from within the wig, "the way you're being treated. Sages should be welcomed with open arms!"

"No matter what way you look at it, we were technically trespassing." Saria reminded her fairy. "And I'm not exactly a Sage yet. Now get out of there, I need to get these ridiculous clothes off." Tossing the wig on the floor, she removed the dress to reveal her usual Kokiri clothing. Fluttering back into her hair, Nori sighed. Saria could be too modest for her own good sometimes.

Glancing around the room the girl noticed a huge cage on wheels, inside the large rainbow feathered bird she had seen earlier sat miserably. The animal would occasionally flap its broad wings and let out a squawk as if calling to someone for help. A pang of sadness shot through Saria's heart, she hated to see any creatures locked away like that, it wasn't right.

Soon the guard returned, unlocking her from the post she was led into the throne room. A long scarlet carpet rolled along the shining cream tiled floor. A mixture of important looking people sat near the light-coloured walls all the way around the room. A magnificent golden throne was set in the centre of the room, jewels of every colour sparkled along its arms, the Meldora symbol engraved proudly on the top. Three night-black wolfos were tied to one of the arms, burning red eyes gleaming hungrily in their sockets, probably to unnerve people such as Saria.

In the corner of the room, sat none other than the empress, Coral. Her eyes were cold and emotionless as she zeroed in on the young girl, the woman had an icy aura about her, one Saria didn't like at all.

The silence was broken when a short middle-aged man approached the throne. Long blue robes flowed majestically around his small frame, brilliant gold crown placed atop his head. That had to be the king, it wasn't exactly the image Saria had in mind though. Glancing at his neck, she gasped, there was a shining golden key hanging on a thin metal chain, surely it was one of the four pendant keys. Getting closer to his throne, the wolfos began to bark excitedly. Taking out a thick leather whip, he used it casually on them; the barking immediately ceased.

"Stupid animals." He muttered impatiently before setting himself neatly on the throne. Adjusting the crown on his aging grey hair, he finally spoke. "It's not often a pair of Hyruleans sneak into my castle, it's even rarer if they manage to leave after it. What I'd like to know, is why you dared try such a reckless stunt." He folded his arms to await an answer.

Saria gulped nervously, should she tell him the truth, or make up something? "Why we were here? Well-" She was rudely interrupted by the king who began a bitter speech about how much he hated Hyrule. The man rambled on, Saria just stood there letting the majority of the worlds fly over her head. She felt quite dizzy, the world was becoming blurry. Placing her hands either side of her head, she attempted to keep standing.

_Gerudo Fortress, the main plotting ground of Ganondorf. The blinding sun shone down over the desert land as Gerudo women went about their daily lives. This consisted of bowing down to their king, doing whatever he said without question and thieving any items he desired. If they chose not to obey him, there was a dire punishment; death._

_The scene switched to one of the evil king smashing apart what appeared to be some sort of temple, the Spirit Temple? He yelled the name of Nabooru over and over, receiving no answer, he sent a large fist into the nearby wall then turned to some newcomers in the room. Two elderly witches, the three conversed for a moment before the witches flew off, cackling wickedly. The scene began to blur out once more, nothing else was shown._

Opening her eyes, Saria was amazed to still be standing. The king must've just finished his speech since he stood staring at her expectantly. The wolfos decided to start barking again, frowning, the king kicked them sharply in the sides causing a high-pitched cry from all three..

"Stop doing that!" Saria found herself yelling, holding a hand out in the direction of the king, a green blast of energy erupted from her very being. The blast would have hit the man dead on had it not been for the empress blocking the spell with one of her own. Nori nearly fainted in his hiding place while Saria covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

"Demon." Hushed whispers circulated around the room.

"Demon my wings." Nori shock his tiny head, these Meldoran folk were very narrow minded.

A group of guards swiftly surrounded Saria, weapons drawn in case she tried to attack again.

Regaining his composure, the king called them off with a wave of his hand. Magic was extremely rare in Meldora, many of the people feared anyone who knew how to use it.

"Normally, I'd have people like you and your noisy boyfriend disposed of on the spot, however, your powers could be useful to me" The king turned to face Coral who scowled disapprovingly. Shrugging, he continued. "My daughter, Celest recently disappeared, her younger brother insists she ran away on purpose but I won't believe it. Someone has kidnapped my princess and I will find her at all costs!" Slamming a fist down onto the throne arm, he terrified the already cowering trio of wolfos. "You girl, you must rescue her! With your powers I'm sure you'll get through whatever barriers are holding her back from me."

Saria tilted her head to the side in thought, she'd just tried to kill this man, accidentally of course, but still. Instead of punishment he wanted her to go find some princess?

"If that's what you want, your Majesty." She answered. Not like there was a better option.

"Excellent." The king smirked, "before I let you go, I need a small deposit, something that I know you will return for. Coral, if you would do the honours?"

Focusing on Saria, the woman's eyes flashed a bright purple, a moment later and her ocarina was floating out of her pocket. Hovering across the room, it landed in the king's hand.

"My ocarina…" Saria was close to tears, her music was one of the few things that comforted her, without it she felt insecure.

"Don't worry, you'll get your instrument back as soon as you yourself are back." He assured her.

"I assume you'll be releasing Link with me, his presence enables my magic to work better." She lied but she wasn't leaving without him.

"Fine, fine. Bring the boy here." The king ordered two of the guards, nodding, they went to retrieve an anxious Link.

Being firmly gripped by the guards, Link was pushed into the room. Doing the same as Saria, Link had also taken off their disguise. Standing in front of the short man, Link resisted the urge to start another yelling fit.

Repeating the process, the empress' eyes glowed a dangerous purple again. The broach Link had been given by Saria instantly flew off his tunic towards the king.

"What's the deal with this?" Link watched his favourite gift moving away from him.

Grasping the small object, the king was satisfied. "Now that I have two of your most treasured possessions, I have no doubts that you will return soon." Signalling for the guards to dismiss them, he span around to face the wall.

Leading them back out into the hallway, the guards returned to the throne room with a new crowd of people. A boy's voice echoed out through the doorway.

"Why didn't you give them the torture treatment Father?" It asked disappointedly.

"Don't fret my boy, the Solar Knights will be more than a match for those two." The king laughed at his own statement.

Running down the steps outside the room, Saria explained the situation to Link. Hurrying to the far end of the hall, they came across the caged bird once again, its pained squawks echoed sadly throughout the area.

Looking behind them, Saria was relieved to find no guards watching. Walking over to the cage, she peered in, it was the first time she'd managed to get a proper look at the strange creature.

"What're you doing?" Link followed her, seeing the animal, his eyes widened with curiously, he'd never seen such a thing. The bird was gigantic, he was surprised the cage could even hold it. It flapped its massive multicoloured wings of blue green and yellow, the main body and head were covered with thick red feathers. Sticking its long yellow beak through the bars, it tried to nibble Saria's nose.

"Eep, what is this thing?" She jumped back out of the way of the sharp beak.

"I'm not sure, I've never seen one before." Nori said from his spot on Saria's shoulder. "I don't like that hungry glint it has in its eye."

Examining the cage, she noticed a simple bolt holding the door closed.

"No one would notice if the lock 'accidentally' came loose would they?" She glanced at Link who didn't know what to say, he knew how fond of animals Saria was and when she wanted to help one nothing would stop her. Just like the time she'd tried to save a drowning deku scrub but ended up in the pond herself. Sliding the latch across, she opened the cage a little, if the bird happened to wander out it wasn't down to her. The creature's expression changed to one of joy, smiling, Saria was satisfied.

Leaving the castle, they left the entrance open for anything else that wanted to exit.

"Where shall we head first?" Link took out the map to check the possible locations. "Stepwall Canyon seems to be closest to here, directly west from the graveyard."

"Hmm." Saria mumbled, "He had one of the keys, I'm sure of it."

"Oh?" Link raised a brow then realised they still had no map for the keys. "I think if we carry on tracking the pendants we'll eventually come across this princess and the keys."

The Soli Train arrived at the station they were walking near as they talked, pocketing the map, Link yawned.

"Fancy a ride to the city entrance on the train?" He hopped into the train door, nodding, Saria got on after him. Inside, there was only one long carriage with bench-like seats on either side, doors were placed at each end and in the centre for the sake of convenience. Taking a seat, they admired the view of the city down below the track.

Looking towards the sky, Saria caught a glimpse of a bird-shaped silhouette gliding in the direction of the midmorning sun, she was glad it was finally free.

Speeding along at an even pace, the train weaved its way along the suspended tracks. Stopping at another station, it waited for new passengers to board. A group of what appeared to both Link and Saria to be people in big furry white coats with large hoods shuffled onboard, moving down the carriage away from them neither got to see their faces. Link shrugged it off thinking they must have been really cold.

* * *

"I didn't know the city was so huge." Saria commented as they left the station. 

"Neither did I." Link brought out the map again, running a finger along the paper he planned out the quickest route to the canyon. "If we leave here then cut across the grasslands we'll get there faster than trekking back around the graveyard."

"Whatever works." Saria replied blankly, she hadn't been herself since the king had taken away her ocarina.

Noticing her mood, Link put an arm around her. "Don't worry, I'll get your ocarina back, even if I have to dress up as a girl again, put my hair in bunches and kiss that bitter old king."

"I'd pay to see that." Nori flew out of Saria's pocket, stretching his arms, he hovered above them.

"Okay, as long as you be my pretty little fairy dolly." Link plucked the fairy from the air and hugged him close.

"I am not a toy!" Nori shrieked in shock. The whole scene caused Saria to start giggling, at least she was happier.

Nori continued to banter on the way as they crossed the fields. Link was surprised that the fairy was talking so much in front of him like he used to those years before Link had become the Hero of Time. Had Nori come to accept him again? Or was he imagining he wasn't there at all now? Either way, it was better than arguing.

"I wonder where those knights went?" Saria gazed around the grass, nothing was out cutting or watering anymore.

"Probably away getting polished or whatever it is those things do on their breaks." Link concluded, pulling out the map for the third time, he saw they were getting close to the canyon.

Nearing the edge of the fields, they arrived at a sandy slope that overlooked Stepwall Canyon. Further in the distance, a golden desert sat, Link guessed it led back to Gerudo Valley somehow.

Before they could even search the canyon, there was the dust trail to walk down, a fairly easy task you'd think, if it wasn't blocked by a group of three Solar Knights.

"Great." Link muttered, he had a feeling these weren't the friendly type.

The knights advanced towards them, they paused to gather data on the newcomers.

"Hyruleans." The emotionless robotic voice of the one in front stated. "You shall not pass."

"We'll see about that." Drawing his sword, Link dashed for them. Preparing to perform a spin attack, he tried to gather as much magic energy as he could but none came. Sending himself into a spin, he grunted when the blade didn't even chip the knights. "Saria, unless you can blast these metal-heads out of the way it would be better if you ran ahead."

"Are you crazy? You can't take them on!" Saria wasn't about to ditch Link to save herself.

"Listen, if you can't attack them you'll only be in the way. I can handle these guys." Link reassured her.

Seeing Link's reasoning, she waited for him to lure them to one side of the path before running along it. Link himself continued to slash at the knights only to fail every time, their strong outer-coats were unbreakable. Deciding to switch weapons, Link sheathed the sword but didn't get a chance to try anything else. A large silver hand slammed into his chest, sending him flying to the ground in a daze. Changing direction, the knights moved after Saria who had run out of room to go any further, the only way now was down.

With her back facing the massive drop behind, Saria turned her head to see a rushing river below. The knights surrounded her ready to end the 'trespassing'.

"Can't you use any magic? Anything at all?" Nori cried, any spells he knew were no match for the likes of these things.

Saria concentrated but it was no good, she wasn't a Sage yet so she couldn't summon spells at will. Right at the edge of the cliff, nowhere else to run, was this the end?

There was a deafening silence, time seemed to slow down. "You shall not pass." The knights spoke again, raising an arm each of them shot a bright yellow beam at the ground in front of Saria. The edge of the cliff instantly crumbled, the impact of the shots sent the Kokiri flying backwards over the cliff. Closing her eyes tightly, she waited to smash into either the cliff walls or a jagged rock hundreds of feet down in the river. Neither happened. Her body began to glow a brilliant green, an immense power flowed through her veins. Loose vines on the cliffside suddenly came to life, snaking downwards at incredible speeds the plants wrapped themselves around her. The world became blurred for the second time that day, Saria passed out.

_Kokiri Forest, images of her beloved home flashed before her eyes. Deku scrubs, giant deku babas, octoroks, angry monsters rampaged through the tiny village ripping anything that got in their way to shreds. Frightened Kokiri children fled into the safety of their small houses away from the monsters. All decent life ceased to exist in the fresh air of the village._

_The vision switched to the inside of the Forest Temple. She saw herself running through the main room, darkness swirling all around. The Poe Sisters flickered into view, cackling wildly they captured her with a series of spells and hexes._

_The scene switched again. This time Phantom Ganon eerily glided over the room. Pointing a finger at her, he encased the girl in a crystal then cast her aside into nothingness._

_A stream of images gushed through her mind, all of the blanks became clear. Seven years worth of memories flooded back in an instant._

_Awaken Forest Sage._

* * *

"Is she awake yet?" A female voice seeped into the Kokiri's mind. 

"Give her some time." Another female voice entered the conversation.

"She did take awhile to arrive here." A third voice spoke, female again but deeper than the previous two.

Opening her eyes, Saria slowly sat up. Blinking a few times, she took in her surroundings. Light blue space was all she could see, fluffy white clouds were dotted here and there but apart from that there was nothing.

"Yay you're awake!" The first voice exclaimed. Saria felt two arms wrap themselves around her neck from behind. Nearly falling backwards, she looked up to see a girl, or was she a woman? Whichever, she was definitely hyper grinning down at her. Dressed entirely in green, the person had a fresh nature-like aura about her. Letting go of Saria, the girl sorted her emerald hair back into place.

"You'll have to excuse my sister, she's been looking forward to meeting you." A woman clad in different shades of red appeared, fiery hair streamed down her back tied in loose ponytails. Floating over to Saria, she held out a slender tanned hand. "Name's Din, pleasure to meet you at last Forest Sage."

Saria stared stupidly at the woman, were these really the three great Goddesses?

"I'm Farore if you hadn't guessed." The one in green introduced herself. "Goddess of life and courage. I believe you've already met my other sister, Nayru."

Nayru serenely drifted towards them. "Hello again Forest Sage. I'm happy my spell helped you in that time of need."

"Shame good ole Darunia beat me to teaching you mine." Din crossed her arms, a slight smirk crept onto her face. "Good job using it in the valley though."

"I must teach you mine soon." Farore insisted. "We always enjoy meeting the Sages, although, the Water Sage was a handful." She winced as she remembered Ruto's awakening time.

Din chuckled, "and the Spirit Sage kept yelling about not wanting to die yet. My, some of you Sages are odd. You however, used to be the cutest."

Saria wondered what the Goddess of Power meant, used to be?

"Now you're turning into one of the most beautiful." Nayru finished her sister's sentence. "Your aging wasn't something we predicted but we're pleased with the outcome so far.

"We know you'll keep Hero Boy in line." Din nodded her head in approval.

"Alright enough chitchat." Farore raised her arms into the air. "You can't be a Sage if you don't look the part." Pointing her finger at Saria's headband, a sprinkle of green sprung from her finger. Landing on the Kokiri's head, the hair-band disappeared to be replaced with a new one. Soft vines weaved themselves into a band where the forest symbol placed itself neatly in the centre.

Din flicked her wrist causing Saria's old Kokiri belt to twist into something similar to the hair-band, the forest symbol again appearing in the middle as a buckle.

Putting a finger to her chin, Nayru thought for a second. Doing the same as her sisters, she sent a small spell at Saria's wrist where a bracelet made entirely of flowers span into view.

"Those flowers will never wilt." Nayru smiled gently.

"And here is a gift from all three of us." They encircled the Kokiri, channelling their power through the air, an elegant dark blue staff materialised above Saria. Markings of Power, Wisdom and Courage were engraved on the side. The staff floated down to Saria's level where she took it between both hands to marvel at their work.

"Not all Sages get a special gift such as this but we thought you could put it to good use.." Farore explained.

Saria didn't know how to respond, she felt so privileged. "Wait, I thought Sages were only awakened when Hyrule needed them?" She asked the three women who looked at her knowingly.

"Maybe Hyrule will need you soon then." Din answered mysteriously.

Not wanting to push the subject anymore, Saria's body began to fade from the void.

"Wait!" Farore took out a green crystal, shoving it into Saria's hand she told her now would be a good time to use it. "It works a bit differently for Sages, you'll see!" The three waved as Saria completely faded from sight.

Opening her eyes, she found herself hanging upside down supported by many vines over the side of the cliff. clasping the crystal in one hand, she knew what to do.

"Farore's Wind!" She heard herself saying, a green light totally engulfed herself, Nori and Link, warping the trio away from the canyon back to the inn.

Landing in a heap in the empty reception area, Link sat up rubbing his aching chest.

"Ugh, what just happened?" He looked next to him where Saria was laying half awake. He noticed the interesting new accessories she had on her clothes and wrist. "Where did those come from?"

Sitting up, Saria took out the new staff to show Link who was very impressed. He was even more so when she told him who had given it to her.

"I remember everything, that awful past in Hyrule." Her expression turned solemn as she reflected on a piece of history she wished she'd never seen.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs bringing with them the owner, seeing the kids on the floor he gave them an odd stare.

"I thought I heard voices in here." Hurrying behind the counter, he shuffled some papers about. "I'm expecting a new guest any minute, if you could clear yourselves from the floor I'd appreciate it."

Jumping up, both brushed themselves off then headed into the sitting room for a rest.

"This is a fine weapon." Nori mused running a hand along the side of the staff. "You could probably channel your magic into this."

"If I practice." Saria yawned falling tiredly against Link who sat next to her. "Awakening is more tiring than you'd think."

"When did I become a pillow?" He smiled fondly at her. "You should go get some sleep."

"Yeah, I will." Rubbing her eyes, she dragged herself up to their room, Nori trailing behind her.

Just as Saria left the room, the main door swung open. There stood the old man from Hyrule wrapped in blue robes, white beard blowing in the afternoon breeze. Checking in, he turned to the sitting room where Link was still on the couch.

"It's a small world isn't it?" The man's eyes twinkled beneath all the hair. Setting himself in a chair, he ordered some tea. "Having a hard time?" Could this old man see into Link's soul? Nah, it was most likely an educated guess.

"Solar Knights." Link simply replied.

"Ah yes, they can be a problem." The man poured himself a cup after the owner had brought him his order. "There is always a way around our obstacles though."

Link looked up from his depressed stupor, the man's words peeked his curiosity. "Do you know something?"

"I know there is a weapon out there that can aid you somehow." Sipping his tea, he peered over the edge of the cup, dark pupils constantly watching Link's changing expressions.

If you could tell me anything more I'd be grateful." Sitting up straight, Link leaned forward to listen carefully.

"There's something going on in the ruins of the old Meldora castle, it's located behind the current one." The man finished his tea, putting his cup on a nearby table he got up to leave. "Go there at nightfall." Collecting his robes, he bid good day to the owner before exiting the inn.

Link sat in silence for a moment to think things through. What could possibly be going on at some tumbled down ruins in the middle of the night?

Walking up the stairs to their room, he quietly slid the door open. Saria slept peacefully on her bed like she didn't have a care in the world. Laying on his own, he stared at the ceiling as if the answer would be written on it somewhere. Unwillingly closing his eyes he drifted into a deep sleep, whatever was going on at the old castle, they'd find out tonight.


	10. Double Vision

Leaving Meldora castle, Taj glanced around the midnight streets. Not many people were out and those who were seemed to be making their way home. It was an odd sight for the usually busy city, must have been the time of week. Taking out a piece of crumpled paper, he stared at it intently, whatever the paper revealed, he didn't look too thrilled with it. Hearing footsteps running in his direction, he quickly hid the paper within his clothes.

"Hello Link, Forest Sage." He spoke as Link and Saria entered the street he was in. "Out for a romantic moonlit run?"

"That's none of your business." Link said as the pair came to a halt near the Sheikah.

"Ok be like that then." Taj turned his head to the side, "I just had an audience with the king, he asked me to go find his daughter, if I'm successful I can have any reward I want."

"He asked us the same thing." Saria wondered why the king would ask Taj to do the same thing. He probably thought the knights would have wiped them out by now.

"Oh? Well, I hope you know I won't be going easy and letting you find her first." Taj put on a fake smirk, he seriously hated doing this.

"Wouldn't expect it." Link frowned, "anyway, we have to be going." Pushing past the tall boy, he carried on walking. Following Link, Saria turned for a second.

"Thank you for the potion." Yelling for Link to wait she caught up to him.

"It was no problem." Taj silently replied. He wished he could tell them exactly what he was doing, but he had a debt to repay so this was the only way.

* * *

The ruins of the early Meldora castle weren't too far behind the current. The only remains were a few grey bricks scattered on the grassy floor and a withered old wall that had managed to remain standing over the years. Making their way over a mound of grass, the pair gasped when they saw the sight before them. 

A figure in a dark cloak sat huddled over a crackling fire in the centre of the ruins, slowly turning around it stretched out a thin hand beckoning for them to come closer.

"So you made it?" The figure croaked, shuffling nearer to them, he touched each on the arm as if to make sure they were real. "I knew there was something about you two the moment we met." Removing the cloak, he revealed himself as the old man from the inn.

"You appear around us a lot don't you?" Link scratched his head, he should have been used to mysterious people following him by now.

Nodding sagely, the man placed a finger on the tip his of nose grinning knowingly beneath the silver hair. Taking a cup from within his cloak, he took a long sip.

"Ah, I always did love Meldoran tea, Hyrulean tea is fine too and then there's…" He babbled on about all the different kinds of tea in the world.

Poking his head out of Saria's pocket, Nori yawned. "We came because you mentioned something about a weapon that can overcome those knights, do you know anything?" As thrilling as discussing tea was, the fairy wanted to know what this new weapon was just as much as the others.

"Hmm?" The man paused, "oh yes, the weapon." Motioning for them to stand back, he waved a hand over the burning fire. The flames snaked into the air clawing for any extra height they could latch onto. Suddenly, an image appeared in the main body of the fire, the image gradually became real. Lowering the flames, the man reached over to the items, holding them up, Link finally got a better look. A pair of gauntlets that appeared to be made of some sort of silver metal, they reminded him of the gold and silver ones he'd found in future Hyrule.

Taking the gauntlets from the man, Link stared curiously at them.

"Ebelon Gauntlets are some of the strongest gauntlets you can find. I'm sure you've heard the word ebelon by now, it's a rare material only found within the mountains of the Ebelon continent across the ocean."

Slipping them on, Link found the material changed to fit his hands and yet still felt hard. "These are great and everything but I'm no puncher." Link pointed out, sure he could swing a punch if provoked but it wasn't his primary choice of attack.

"Who said they're for punching?" The man winked then faced Saria who had been standing watching the whole time. "This is where you come in young lady."

"Me? What can I do?" Saria asked. The man pointed to the staff placed in her belt. Bringing the staff out, she gave the man an odd look.

"Hold out your hands boy." He instructed, Link held his hands out flat in front of himself. "No not that way! Hold them like you're blocking an attack." When he was satisfied with Link, he turned again to Saria. "Now, send a blast of magic towards them."

"Huh? Won't that-"

"Just do it!" The man was growing impatient, youth of today, always questioning everything!

Holding the staff out, Saria hesitated for a second until Link nodded for her to continue, he knew he could handle anything thrown at him. Concentrating her energy into the staff, she watched as an blast of green shot from it directly into the gauntlets.

Being pushed back slightly by the force of the impact, Link was amazed to find the gauntlets absorbed all of the energy, they flashed a dim emerald a few times before returning to normal. A warm sensation flowed through the boy's body.

"Magic is the key to those things, when the sensation is gone you'll know they need recharging." The man explained.

"I still don't understand what I do with them." Link inspected his new items carefully.

Finishing his tea, the man waved a hand over the empty cup. The tealeaves swirled into the shape of a stalfos, glancing up, he smiled when the enemy appeared on the grass.

"Try them out." He winced when Link went to reach for his sword, "don't use that! Simply run at it."

Dropping his hand, Link stood wondering what the old guy was on about. Deciding to try what he advised, the boy ran at the startled stalfos. Sending his left hand forward, he was shocked when a pure white blade materialised out of the gauntlet, sending his other arm towards the stalfos another sword shot out of the gauntlet again; both had shining silver hilts that connected to the gauntlets. Slashing with his left hand, Link landed an easy hit on the stalfos, not waiting for it to attack, he used the right sword to cut straight through its weak shield.

"Those blades are made of pure ebelon, they can cut through most metal-type materials with ease." The man sighed as Link finished the stalfos off with only his left sword; the boy needed to learn to use both blades in sync with each other.

Watching the stalfos turn to dust, Link was surprised when the blades disappeared back into the gauntlets.

"They react to immense energy, when you don't want to use the swords anymore they'll vanish until next time. You're free to use only one but you'd do well to use both." The man put out the fire then prepared to leave.

"You're going?" Link interrupted the man's packing.

"I may know a few tricks but I'm still an old man, I need my rest." Pulling his hood back over his head, he made to leave. "I'm sure we'll meet again, sooner than you think. Get some practice in before proceeding, it will benefit you greatly." Flinging his clock behind him, the man strolled away to the inn.

"Well, that was…interesting." Nori hovered up landing on Saria's head, setting himself on her headband he fidgeted with some loose strands of hair tucking them into place.

Link continued to admire the gauntlets, snapping out of his gazing he realised he didn't have anything to practice against.

Reading his expression, Saria twirled the staff around in her hand, an impish grin on her face.

"Why don't you practice against me?" She casually suggested.

"What!" Nori nearly fell off backwards from shock, clutching at a loose strand of hair rather tightly he caused her to swat him off her head.

"That's a nice thought, but um, I don't want to hurt you." Link tried not to sound too insulting, he knew she could take care of herself with her new powers but there was no way she could touch him.

"I know I'm no expert; all the more reason for both of us to get better, right?" Her insistent tone told Link she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Nori groaned, why couldn't he have been put in charge of someone who actually listened to him? Deciding not to argue, he shot Link a warning look that said 'be careful or face my wrath'.

"Ok but I am not using these swords." Link said firmly. Removing the gauntlets, he took out two deku sticks to replace the blades.

"Deku sticks? Oh please, I break those in my sleep!" Saria figured most of Link's opponents would be cocky so why not give him a taster? Even if her taunts were very bad.

Link rubbed his eyes, was this the same Saria who had been with him a minute ago? "Did you get one wedged up your backside? Or did you start PMSing?"

It was Saria's turn to look baffled, she had no idea what PMSing even meant.

"Alright! Enough of this!" A flustered Nori yelled over them. He didn't want to the facts of life being taught to Saria until they were needed.

"Sorry." Link saw the confused look on Saria's face and the angry one on Nori's. He didn't even know what PMSing was himself, he'd just heard Impa complaining that Zelda had it a few months ago when she kept experiencing mood swings; when asking Impa what she meant, she had simply replied saying it was a teenaged girl thing.

"Right, let's begin…" Saria's curious nature was begging her to find out what exactly they were talking about but from Nori's reaction she guessed it was best to wait.

"Don't go easy on me." Link smirked confidently, even if she did manage to get a hit in he knew he could handle it.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Saria replied, focusing her energy into the staff, she got ready. Shooting a small blast, she wasn't surprised when Link easily avoided it. Becoming a Sage meant a whole new range of spells were open for use; the more powerful ones required chants so she was going to leave them alone for now and try out some minor ones.

"Heh, easy." Link drew the deku sticks once more, rushing towards Saria he was about to pull off a fake slash when she disappeared out of sight. Reappearing behind him, she shot a blast into his back sending him flying onto the floor. Not giving him a chance to recover, she rose her hands into the air, vines slithered up from within the grass, creeping swiftly over to Link they wrapped themselves tightly around him before lifting him up in the air.

"You sure about that?" Saria had a feeling he'd break free of the trap somehow, after all, she was controlling how strongly the vines held him, any tighter and they may have crushed his bones. But, this was Link, he could probably survive much worse than this; she just enjoyed teasing him.

Shutting his eyes, Link reserved his energy. Breathing deeply, he fought against the snake-like plants, pushing against them he started loosening their grip. "Ugh, give me a second." The boy wheezed. He couldn't believe she'd done this, he was going easy on her but still, he hadn't expected it. Fighting the pressure some more, he finally broke free only to fall to the ground gasping heavily for oxygen. "Time for payback." Leaping up, he dashed towards Saria who warped out of the way yet again. However, this time Link was ready for her since anyone who used repetitive attacks was basically dead before starting where he was concerned. Spinning around at an incredible speed, he lightly slashed at her with one of the sticks. "If that was a real sword your left arm would've gone by now." He continued to move as he spoke. Without warning, he threw down a deku nut which successfully stunned the girl, this gave Link another chance to pretend to take off her other arm with his other stick. Parrying behind her, he made a swiping motion at her waist. "And there go your legs. All of this could have been done in a few seconds if we weren't play-fighting and I'd more than likely finish you off with a downwards slash straight through your head but I'll spare you." Moving up closer, he put his arms around her. "Then I grab the enemy's remains and crush them between my bare hands."

Nori rolled his eyes but a small smile crept onto his face. "You don't really do that last part."

"Nah, it was an excuse to get like this." Link rested his chin on Saria's shoulder.

"Do you do this to all your enemies?" Saria turned around in his arms, sliding her arms around his neck she softly kissed him.

"Only the cute ones." Link quickly regretted that joke when he received a light whack on the head with the staff. "All joking aside, we don't get enough time to do this." Slipping his arms back around her, he enjoyed the feeling of closeness that he'd missed sharing with her for so long.

Hovering above, Nori watched the touching scene. He didn't want to admit it but he knew Saria could take care of herself. She had always been more independent than the rest of the Kokiri and now she had Link who could cut up enemies in seconds, why would she want a fairy anymore?

Linking arms, the pair started to make their way back to the inn.

"How did you warp like that?" Link asked referring to Saria's warping to avoid attacks.

Reaching into a pocket, Saria took out the green crystal of Farore's Wind. "As a Sage I can use this to warp to any place I've been physically."

"Impressive, I wish Farore's Wind worked like that for me." Link sighed, "oh well, we should go back to the inn for tonight."

* * *

The sun rose over the dry orange rocks of Stepwall Canyon bringing with it the Solar Knights who began their usual daily routines of keeping the land in shape. 

A loud blast echoed throughout the valley as one of the knights blasted a Sheikah boy. Tumbling to the floor, he grumbled; there was no way he could get past these things, his sword was useless and there was no point even trying his throwing stars. Rolling to the side of the ambush, he leapt up running as fast as he could out of the area. Stopping to rest when he was sure they weren't after him anymore, he took out the piece of paper again; time for a new route.

Just as Taj left the canyon, Link and Saria arrived. Slipping on his gauntlets, Link held his hands out while Saria charged them.

"Just leave these guys to me." Link strolled down the slope waiting for them to notice him. When they did, the knights immediately advanced towards him. Ignoring their actions, Link held one arm straight into the air enabling a sword to shoot out of the gauntlet. Doing the same with the other, he slashed at the nearest who tried to block the blade but ended up with an arm on the ground. Holding off the other two with his right sword, Link scraped the left sword heavily across the first knight's metal chest leaving a lovely gash.

Watching Link attempting to work with both swords, Saria wondered if she could do anything to help. Spinning the staff between her fingers, she aimed it to the right then turned to the left.

"What in all of Hyrule are you doing?" Nori asked from his perch on her head.

"I don't know…" Saria put the staff away, "I don't need to use the staff do I? It's more of an energy channelling item." Holding a hand out in front of her, she pointed at it the closest knight. Without realising what she was doing, the knight flew off its giant feet; this gave Link the chance he needed to perform a spin attack right as it fell.

Never having seen one of their own laying in a heap on the floor, the other two began to panic, crashed into each other then fled into the fields.

"Wasn't expecting that." Link let the swords return into the gauntlets. Getting a closer look at the knight, he ran a hand across its metal body as smoke began drifting out of the gashes.

"What did you just do?" Nori questioned Saria who shrugged since she had no idea herself.

"A lucky fluke I guess." She replied, "we should make a move in case this thing wakes up or repairs itself somehow."

Walking to the edge of the cliff, she saw the place where the rocks had crumbled away when they'd attacked her.

"Hmm, I wonder why they call it Stepwall Canyon? I don't see any steps on walls…" Link glanced about but couldn't see anything. "Everything in Hyrule is named a lot clearer, you always know what you're getting there."

"The important thing is how will you cross?" Nori gulped at the massive drop beneath them.

As if to answer them, the vines that had saved Saria rustled gently in the breeze. Kneeling down to their level, Saria stared at them for a moment. The girl and vines seemed to be having a private conversation only they could understand. Nodding, she stood up to direct the plants in the right direction.

Link's eyes widened when he saw the vines stretch across the canyon, more and more crawled out of the cliffside ready to help make the bridge until it was finally done.

"Should be safe enough." Saria commented on her new friends' work.

The bridge itself had no side handles but was wide enough so they could cross easily. Stepping onto the bridge, Saria slowly made her way over being careful not to look down. Following her example, Link trailed after her; he hoped to the Goddesses these vines wouldn't change their mind when they were half way across.

"Phew, at last." He mumbled when they arrived at the other side. Taking out the pendant map he checked the locations. "Yep, should be a pendant somewhere in this desert."

"Hey over here." Nori called, the fairy was sitting on top of a small stone pedestal, Meldoran scripture was engraved neatly on the front.

"Shame we can't read it." Link examined the object, there was a round hole in the top, maybe something could go in it.

Also noticing the hole, Saria took out the staff. Placing it inside, they waited for something to happen.

"Was worth a try." Saria was about to take the staff out when a mighty rumble shook the ground. In the desert near them, a large triangle-shaped building rose majestically from within the sands.

"Not often you see one of those." Nori whistled. "Pyramids are as ancient as Hyrule's temples."

Running up to the 'pyramid' as Nori called it. Both admired its interesting shape and textures. Wandering around, something caught Saria's eye. The pendant they wanted was just sitting in a slot on the side of the wall, there had to be a catch, no one would leave it laying around like that. Looking both ways, she inched closer to the wall where she reached out to grab the pendant. The second her fingers touched the gold, burning flames erupted from the walls covering the whole building in fire.

"The answer to getting the pendant must be inside." Link said when he came across a slanting entrance that the flames hadn't covered.

"Let's get this over with then." Saria followed Link into the depths of the ancient pyramid.

* * *

"They've finally arrived." A silky voice hissed, "My brother was a fool who couldn't handle those pathetic kids but I'll take care of them. Yesss, myself and my precioussss." Hysterical laughter followed that little statement as a slim translucent figure moved around a sandy room preparing her defences. 

A dim golden light enveloped the main room of the pyramid providing the only light in the building.

Entering through the tumbled down door, Link and Saria were greeted with a long dark corridor. Clumps of sand littered the floor along with what looked like dead mice and insects. Stone statues of what must have been respected Gods of Meldora lined the golden walls.

Pausing to take in the surroundings, Saria accidentally leaned against one of the statues who instantly pulled her into the wall.

"Saria!" Link anxiously shouted, touching the statue that had taken her, he found it didn't react at all.

"Together they work well, but alone how will they cope?" The figure sneered excitedly as the it looked through a glass ball it was holding.

Falling out of the wall, Saria landed who knows where in another part of the pyramid. She was again in the a long corridor giving her the impression that this place was one big maze.

_Saria?_ Link's voice entered her mind.

_Yeah, I'm here. I think this place is a giant maze, heading to the centre would be our best bet._

Breaking the connection, she started to move along the corridor that gradually began to slope upwards. After a few minutes of walking, she reached the end of the corridor which connected to another room. The room still had the large walls but the ceiling was a lot higher.

"Now for the fun to begin." The figure tilted the glass orb, like a pinball machine, the main room tilted causing a massive boulder to enter the maze.

"I don't like the sound of that." Link whispered to Nori who had to his dismay not been taken away with Saria. Running through the first stretch, he dashed around a corner to come face to face with the boulder. With no where to run, Link did the only thing he could, he put his hands up to block the boulder.

Rolling slowly into the boy as the floor was tilted once more, the boulder attempted to crush him but was being held back by a stronger force. The ebelon gauntlets had a second use, pushing against the immense force, Link steered the boulder along the maze.

"I should've guessed these things were stronger than the other gauntlets."

While Link was dealing with the boulder, Saria carried on wandering along the winding turns and slopes. Running a hand along one wall, she suddenly heard a slithering sound on the other side of the wall, a very large slithering sound.

"Help me." A faint voice seeped into the Sage's mind, "Save me from this spell."

Breaking into a run, Saria rounded another corner to be attacked by flaming skulltulas. Easily taking them out with the staff, she hurried further on trying to follow the sound of slithering and pleas for help.

"Destroy the gemstone!" The raspy voice begged.

Pushing the boulder into a corner, Link managed to slide past it. Rushing down the next path, he slashed at weak enemies as they made lame attempts to attack him. He was hearing the same slithering sound Saria was, however, no voices spoke to him.

Turning another corner, Saria sighed when she reached a dead end.

"Where am I supposed to go?" She asked aloud hoping someone would answer.

"The walls aren't what they seem." The same voice explained.

"Aaah! She's helping them!" The figure screeched angrily. "She'll pay for thisss."

Exploring the wall in front of her, Saria didn't know what the voice meant until she tried the lower half. Her hand went straight through the bricks! Crawling through, she appeared in another part of the maze.

_Link we can go through some of the walls!_ She messaged the boy who was growing tired of chopping down useless enemies on his side of the maze. Using Saria's advice, he ducked under one of the walls then was fortunate enough to find another. Finally, they arrived in the same area.

"We must be close to whoever is doing this." Link's observations were correct. Turning another corner they were rewarded with a long path that led straight to a tall door. It would have been simple to reach the door had the figure not tilted the ball yet again.

Taking out his hookshot, Link grabbed Saria's arm. Aiming at the point over the door, he pulled the both of them right up to it.

"So they survived my first challenge. The second will not be so easy."


	11. Serpent Showdown

Watching Link and Saria entering the room she was in, the figure flickered out of sight. Reappearing above the pyramid, her orb twisted into an hourglass. Tipping it upside-down, she smiled wickedly to herself; they'd have a hard time passing this next challenge.

Walking through the entrance to the next room, they glanced around to find only a small square area with piles of sand in each corner. Dark golden bricks made up the walls and floor, the ceiling was filled in with jagged rocks and more sand. A wave of heat suddenly overcame them as they stepped in.

"It's so hot in here." Saria wiped her forehead, she wanted to pass out.

"Must be because we're in an active…pyramid." Link pointed out, the heat was a bit much for him too.

Saving their breath, they listened to the sounds of the room. Saria shuddered when she heard the loud slithering again beneath the floor. The difference this time was that it sounded like there were two of whatever they were down there.

"Do you hear that slithering sound?" She whispered to Link who nodded. Before they could panic over that, another sound entered the room; a rushed hissing noise.

Looking above them, Link gasped. What he saw was a long crack in the ceiling, a stream of yellow sand was very quickly pouring in through the gap. Motioning for Saria to run for the door, they got a shock when the only exit of the room disappeared to be replaced by more bricks.

"Argh damn it!" Link yelled, running at the spot where the door used to be, he banged his fists rapidly on it. Looking behind, the sand had already covered the whole of the floor and would probably carry on going up until it crushed them into the ceiling.

"Can people survive under sand?" Saria meekly asked, she had already guessed the answer but still needed to ask. "Maybe we won't even find out if this heat suffocates us first."

Ignoring the temperature, Link dug through his inventory. "Don't worry, neither will happen." He wasn't going to die here, not now that he finally had Saria, he'd gotten through worse than this in the past, there had to be something that could get them out.

Half an hour later the room was just over half full. Link had tried every weapon he could think of apart from the bow but that would be no use anyway. Bombs hadn't worked, bombchus were the same, boomerang did nothing and neither did the hookshot.

Saria had managed to try her staff but the magic couldn't break the rocks, Link wasn't ready to give up yet though. Searching deeper through his items, he came across the three transformation masks. These were the only masks he'd cared to bring along with him since the rest were too dangerous or not very helpful. Pulling them out, he studied each.

Zora would never withstand this heat, Deku was too weak…..but Goron? They could survive immense heat and had incredible strength, strength enough to break through rocks with ease!

"Hold on just a little longer Saria, I'll get us out of here." Link assured her, all he had to do was wait for the sand to rise high enough for him to reach the rocks.

Fifty minutes rolled slowly by. They had somehow been able to stay conscious in the heat by concentrating on colder places in their minds while Nori had used a cooling spell on himself that only fairies could cast on themselves to live in certain conditions.

Clutching the Goron Mask in his hand, Link placed it over his face. A flash of light engulfed the boy as he transformed into the mighty rock dweller. Saria couldn't help smile when she saw the result, Link's Goron form did look funny with the hat on.

Sending his fists into the rocks, Link began punching the way to freedom. The insane heat wasn't bothering him anymore in his new form which helped greatly with the punching. Smashing vigorously at the rocks he finally created a larger gap, a few more punches caused the bright daylight to creep in through the hole.

Checking that the gap was big enough, Link tore off the mask putting it away. Clambering up through the hole, he reached down to pull Saria out with him. A loud smash sounded behind them just as the gap filled with sand then stopped completely. A shattered hourglass lay ruined on what appeared to be the roof of the pyramid. Nori was surprised at how much space was up there, usually pyramids didn't have flat summits but this one was square.

"I should've known you'd sssurvive my pyramid." A voice hissed out of nowhere. The figure flashed into view for them to finally see who had been trying to end their lives. She was a tall slender woman, long black robes surrounded her thin body. Thick long black hair ran loosely down her back and around her tanned lean face. Night-black eyes glared out over them menacingly as her whole being hovered above the ground.

"Who are you?" Link growled, the first thing he noticed about her was that she seemed to be some kind of ghost, this fact put him on edge right away.

"Lady Eskena, Mistress of the Sands. I heard you sent my dear brother Carculous back to the underworld, he was a weakling compared to me!"

"So you **can** say a sentence without stretching your S sounds." Link smirked, although her appearance did still worry him slightly. "How come you aren't a walking corpse like your brother?"

"I prefer to take the spirit approach." Eskena replied, "I only ussse the S sounds to make my precious feel more at home. Speaking of him, I think it's about time you met." Clapping her hands, she waited patiently as the slithering noise became closer and closer until a very large brown snake slithered over the side of the pyramid.

Rising up behind its mistress, the animal was at least twelve feet tall, opening its gigantic mouth, it hissed excitedly showing deadly fangs.

"And now you must meet the new addition to our little family." Holding her hands in the air, she called forth another beast.

A second similar looking snake appeared at the opposite side of the pyramid, however, there was something different about this one, a pleading expression was written on its scaly face.

"Average sized snakes are a fairy's nightmare, but these things are terrifying!" Nori screamed diving into Saria's pocket.

"Kill them!" Eskena commanded. On her word, the snake behind her dove directly at the pair, shoving Saria out of the way, Link span around just in time to see the snake burrowing into the pyramid. Feeling the vibration of the animal moving underground, Link ran to the centre of the square and began jumping up and down. Sensing the boy above it, the snake dove out of the ground sending him flying. Twisting around in the air, Link was able to slide down the snake's back dragging both newly formed swords along with him. The snake screeched in pain as it felt the sharp blades digging into its scaly body.

"Link are you crazy?" Saria shouted from below. Turning, she noticed the other snake still waiting behind her. She knew she should have been afraid but for some reason she felt perfectly comfortable.

"The stone." It whispered, "destroy the stone!"

"What are you doing!" Eskena shrieked at the stationary snake, "attack her!" Rising her arms once again, Eskena tried to control the disobedient snake but it was no good; the animal fought against her powers.

Looking back at the first snake, Saria winced as Link jumped over its tail end. His blades were soaked in blood from the previous attack, more red liquid oozed out of the snake's back from where he had cut it. Scanning it for any unusual things, Saria saw what the other snake had talked of; a glistening red stone was tied around its neck.

"The stone! We have to break it!" She yelled to Link who was too busy blocking a giant fang with the swords as it tried to tear him in two.

Taking matters into her own hands, Saria grabbed her staff. Aiming for the stone, she shot a blast but missed, the snake was just too fast for her. Sending another and another, she carried on missing.

"Ugh, I need to slow it down. I wonder…." The Sage thought to herself for a moment.

"What do you wonder?" Nori popped his head out, usually when Saria wondered anything she was about to do something drastic.

"I remember a spell I read in the temple, an ancient forest chant, if I can do it, we may have a chance."

"Well, you know being a Sage you don't need to chant, just go over the words in your mind." Nori hoped she knew what she was doing.

Closing her eyes Saria held the staff out in front of herself. Spinning around very slowly, she began.

_Forest spirits hear my command._

Link back-flipped out of the way as the beast dove for him once more.

_Lend me your powers from within the land._

Being flipped into the air by another dive, Link skidded down the snake's back getting his tunic covered in its blood.

_Swirling winds and dancing leaves._

Falling to the floor, Link rolled out of the way of the animal's tail as it tried to flick him off the pyramid. Taking out a bomb, he waited for the snake to dive mouth wide open at him. Tossing the bomb into its mouth, he grinned when the explosion sent blood gushing from its mouth.

_Aid me now in what I wish to achieve._

Dodging the beast's ongoing attacks, Link looked over at Saria who was now glowing a luminous green.

"Waltz of Nature's Serenity!" The girl shouted. A harsh wind began to blow around her as an emerald cyclone sprung from the ground totally surrounding the Forest Sage. Hundreds of tiny leaves danced within the swirling wind, spinning faster and faster Saria waved her hands towards the snake. Reacting to the instructions, the cyclone swirled its way over to the snake, lifting the animal from the roof, it twirled it insanely for what must have seemed like forever to the snake.

When she was satisfied, Saria lowered the staff telling the cyclone to stop. Obeying, the cyclone span back over to her where it gradually slowed down and eventually vanished.

The dizzy snake collapsed with a thud. Grasping the staff, Saria shot a blast at the stone, it hit dead on but didn't break.

"It must need something sharp to crack it, Link use your bow!"

Ignoring the bow advice, Link took out his boomerang which was useless.

"It has to be an arrow! Please Link, before it recovers!" She knew he could hear her, he was just being stubborn. Running over, Saria searched through his pockets against his will. Pulling out the bow, she went to aim. "I'm not used to this so excuse me if I injure myself."

"I'll do it." Link snatched the bow from her, "stand back." Shakily aiming the bow, he swallowed a few times. Images of him shooting Saria squeezed their way into his head, shaking them out, he shot at the stone.

Landing right in the centre of the stone, a loud crack echoed followed by the stone literally exploding. Both snakes began to flash a blinding white.

"Nooo!" Eskena cried, her ghostly image started to fade away until there was nothing.

The snake nearest to them morphed back into the normal snake it had used to be, slithering through the pool of blood, it dug its way deep into the pyramid.

"That was great, I'm so proud of you." Saria smiled moving closer to Link. "I would give you a hug but um…yeah." She stared at his tunic and hands which were stained with blood.

"I guess I could use a wash." Link returned the smile.

Unlike the first snake, the second one didn't transform back into a snake, instead it turned into a teenaged girl. Running a hand through her curled orange hair, she stumbled over to the ones who had saved her.

"Thank you for taking my advice." She bowed to Saria.

"So it was your voice I heard." Saria glanced at the girl's odd choice of clothing. A cream nightdress covered with a purple dressing gown and matching slippers.

"My father has been acting so weird lately so I decided to find some answers. My search lead me here where that evil woman captured me to use in her plans."

"You left the castle in your night clothes?" Link raised an eyebrow.

"The only time I could leave was at night, not having time to change I just left as I was in a hurry." Finding the strings on her gown she quickly tied them up. "My name is Celest by the way, Princess of Meldora."

As they introduced themselves, the pyramid began to rumble. The large structure started to sink down into the sand until it was as if the thing had never been there. The only thing remaining was a shining pendant laying on the desert floor.

Picking the trinket up, Saria smiled to herself, at least they had something to show for this little outing.

"You have to come back to the castle with us." Link told Celest who shook her head.

"I'm not going back until I get answers!" She stomped her foot the way only a princess knew how.

"If you go back, we'll help you find them." Link sighed with relief when he saw her expression soften. "How do you mean he's been acting different anyway?"

"My father never used to be so bitter towards Hyrule, now he's made all these Solar Knights and barriers trying to keep Hyruleans out. Ever since that vile man from your desert appeared and that Coral woman things haven't been going so good."

Link pondered carefully over the princess's words. The vile man was obviously Ganondorf, he scattered the pendants and keys throughout the kingdom to make life harder for Hyrule. So far the pendants had led them to this princess, would they eventually lead them to more answers? Also, the part Coral played in all this was still a mystery, who was the real person running Meldora?

Turning towards the canyon, the trio made their way over to it. Arriving at the cliff edge, Link gasped, two stone staircases had formed either side of the cliffs.

"There're your steps on walls." Saria grinned at Link who smacked himself in the face.

"Where did they come from?" He knew for sure that they weren't there earlier.

"Usually, when someone places a magical artefact into that pedestal, the steps appear. Eskena used her powers to transfer the pedestal's energy into her pyramid, so when someone used a magical item, the pyramid appeared instead of the steps. Now that the pyramid is gone, the steps have returned." Taking a breath, Celest narrowed her eyes at the mess on Link's hands and tunic. "You should wash your hands in the river."

Leading them down the stone steps, she folded her arms impatiently as Link knelt down. Dipping his hands in the ice cold water, he attempted to scrub them clean along with the gauntlets.

Looking to his right, Link noticed how the water was rushing in through a tunnel going through the wall.

"Where does this river go?" He asked glancing the other way.

"Goes all the way round to the city." Celest explained, "I hope you plan on changing when you get to wherever it is you're going because being quite honest, you look a ghastly sight." She wrinkled her nose up disapprovingly at Link's bloody tunic.

"Thank you for your words of kindness Princess, next time someone needs saving I'll remember to keep myself clean." Link mumbled, a slight hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Marching on ahead, Celest showed them an arched stone bridge where they could safely cross the river. Climbing up the steps, they arrived back where the knights had attacked them; none were there anymore.

Continuing to stomp ahead of them, Celest babbled on about her father, brother and anyone else she cared to mention. Finally making it back to Soli City, both Link and Saria hoped for a moment of silence but alas, they didn't get their wish.

"Ah home again, you know one time I went out shopping with the maids, it was good at first but then..." She talked on and on without even stopping to see if anyone was listening to her.

Walking to the castle, Celest instructed the guards to open the doors for her and the others. Chatting her way into the throne room, she was greeted with a delighted father. Switching his attention to Link and Saria, he cleared his throat.

"My instincts are still telling me to lock you both up, but you did bring me my darling Celest so I will keep my word." Motioning for the guards to take them their belongings, he gave his daughter a hug.

Saria's face lit up when she received her ocarina, Link too was happy to get his broach but the real reward was seeing Saria smiling.

"Now that you've served your purpose get out of my kingdom!" The king ordered them.

"Daddy!" Celest pouted, she hated her father being like this.

"Alright, I grant you access to Meldora but keep out my sight!" With that, he pointed a finger at the door signalling for the pair to leave.

Celest sighed, she wondered if they really would help her find the answers. "Daddy why are you acting like this? And where is Empress Coral?" The girl browsed the room searching for the old woman but couldn't see her.

"Coral? She's being escorted on a tour of the castle." The king yawned loudly. "I'll be taking my nap now, see you this evening Sweetie." Exiting through a side door, he left the princess to her own devices. She contemplated running away again but concluded doing that wouldn't help matters.

"Princess, a rare bird went missing from the castle yesterday, do you know anything about it?" One of the guards nervously asked.

"Birds aren't my main concern right at the moment, so to answer your question, no I have no idea what you mean." Pushing the guard aside, the girl stormed off to her own quarters.

* * *

His attempt to save the princess had failed. Taj realised this as he watched her returning home with Link and Saria, however, he knew what he wanted and nothing would get in his way. 

Lurking in the shadows, he prepared to carry out an act he'd been taught whilst growing up; thieving. Keeping a close eye on the guards' every movement, he studied their pattern making sure he knew it off by heart. Glancing once more at the paper, he nodded. The paper or better called 'map' actually didn't direct him to the castle, but he'd seen the king wearing a key so something must have been mixed up along the line.

Seizing his chance, the Sheikah made full use of his cat-like reflexes as he sprinted through the shadows. Slipping past the oblivious guards, he easily slid through the main door.

Hurrying into the hall, he needed to think fast, where would the king be and how would he find him? Peeking into the throne room didn't help much, all he saw were guards lazily standing by the walls. Hearing footsteps coming behind him, Taj leapt into a corner.

"His Majesty is always so tired lately, I wonder why he needs to nap in the afternoons." A guard said to a maid who nodded her head in agreement. Strolling into another door, they disappeared none the wiser of the boy's presence.

Guessing the king must be asleep, Taj ran up the main staircase towards what he hoped would be the bedrooms. Ducking into rooms when people entered the passage he was in, he eventually reached the king's floor. Edging his way to the large wooden door, he peered in through the slit.

The room was draped in a light lavender colour, something Taj found very odd. Oh well, he didn't care if the room was decorated with pink and yellow fairies as long as the key was in there.

Gently pushing open the door, the boy tiptoed across the lush carpet. Spying the key placed around the king's neck, he groaned; this would be difficult. Before he could proceed, rushed footsteps clicked their way along the passage outside the room. Diving under the bed, Taj watched as Empress Coral sneakily entered.

Watching the woman's feet shifting along the floor, Taj held his breath. What did she think she was doing sneaking into people's room anyway? That was his job.

Creeping towards the king, Coral quietly sneered to herself. Taking control of this naïve kingdom had been too easy so far, in fact, it was so easy no one had even noticed. Reaching out a bony finger, she placed it on the key, chanting an ancient spell in an unfamiliar language, the key glowed purple before returning to normal.

Satisfied with her work, she turned to leave when she noticed a slip of blue under the bed. Kneeling down, she harshly pulled out a shocked Taj by the collar. Without another word, the two vanished in a flash of violet; where they were going, only Coral knew.

* * *

Waking from his unpleasant nap, the king sprung out of bed. Tossing his bed sheets on the floor, he ran out of his room screaming orders to any guard he passed. Slamming his way into the throne room, he demanded the attention of his advisors. 

"I want Hyrule blown off the face of this world! Round up the Solar Knights, tonight we go to war!"

"W-war? Are you sure about that Majesty?" One of his advisors asked anxiously, he knew that if they went to war with Hyrule they had a good chance of being defeated. The magic of that kingdom was so powerful.

"Just do it!" The king grabbed the man roughly by the shirt ready to throw him into a wall. "Kill all Hylians and torture the other races!" Shoving through a group of worried people, the king went to search for his children.

* * *

Slipping into a fresh tunic, Link stretched his arms lazily. They hadn't done much since they returned to the inn apart from eat and wonder where the old man had disappeared to. The owner had simply said he'd checked out early that morning then insisted since they were his favourite customers he didn't mind losing him. 

Saria stood admiring the evening view of the city. Looking down the street, she read all the different building names in turn. Most didn't interest her, but there was one that caught her eye. Aged statues and paintings stood in the window along with a couple of very strange objects. The sign above the door read 'Meldora Museum'.

"What's a museum?" She asked Nori.

"A place where you can go to see items and the such from the past." He continued to fill her in on what to expect in a museum, the more she heard, the more she wanted to get a closer look.

"Come on, I want to do some sightseeing." She grabbed a startled Link by the arm dragging him out the door.

Running down the street, they stopped outside the building.

"Why did you want to come here?" Link rubbed his eyes, tiredness slowly overtaking his body.

"I figured we could learn something about the kingdom we're exploring." She said pulling the door open. Paying at the desk, they began to wander around, a few people shot them funny looks but neither took any notice.

Leaning over a glass cabinet, Saria stared at the mysterious items within.

"I wonder what it is." The glass fogged up as she breathed too close to it.

"It's a wooden spoon." Link sighed, "and that, is a wooden block." He crossed his arms. "It's probably from some old tree they tore down to make this crazy city."

Moving along the displays, they came across some ebelon rocks. Saria knelt down to get a better look. White, green, blue, yellow, red, there were a variety of sparkling colours.

"The Ebelon continent doesn't look very welcoming." She commented looking at a picture of the area the rocks had been dug up in. It was an icy mountainside covered in lifeless snow.

"We have to thank it for my blades though." Link reminded her.

Finishing with the cabinets, Saria pulled Link over to some articles scattered on the walls. Running a finger along the writing, she gasped when she saw a picture of Carculous outside a rather fancy castle.

"I wish I could read this writing." Saria frowned, she hated not being able to learn things. "By the looks of it, Carculous lived in some sort of castle centuries ago. Do you think it was the old Meldora castle?" Following the articles along, she got another shock when she was greeted with a picture of Eskena outside the same castle.

"If that is the old castle, I wonder if the current royal family's ancestors took it from them. It would explain why they welcomed Ganondorf with open arms and offered to hide the pendants." Link summarised, although he wasn't sure if he was right or not. Either way, it didn't matter now since both were gone.

"That's a good theory." Nori complimented Link on his guess work. Fluttering onto Saria's head, he yawned. "Can we get out of here now?"

"You Hyruleans better watch yourselves." A group of Meldorans stood sniggering behind them.

"Why's that?" Link snarled, these people were already annoying him.

"The king has just announced war on Hyrule, he's lining up the troops as we speak. In a few days, your kingdom will be in ruins."

"That can't be true…." Saria paled as they left the building, "If this is happening we have to go back."

Link thought over the situation. "No, let's carry on. I have a hunch that whatever started this war is somewhere in Meldora." Looking at the map, he examined the next location. "Besides, Zelda will hold them off for now, she'll have to."


	12. A Tiny Dance

Packing their things, Link and Saria checked out of the inn since they weren't sure how long they'd be at the next location. Running through the city, they went past the old ruins, out the back gate and up a slight slope.

"Here we are." Link announced as they arrived at an archway made entirely of trees. "Tarical Woods, this should lead us to the next town." He read from the map.

Peering into the entrance, all Saria could see was darkness. "Looks really dark but if this is the only way, let's go, how bad could a forest be?"

Entering the sloping path, they began walking through the oddly shaped trees. The thing both found most odd was that there were near to no animals amongst the branches.

"There's something not right about these…these…th- Achoo!" Saria sneezed, rubbing her nose, she took a breath before sneezing again.

"Are you ok?" Link stopped to ask only to be answered with a series of sneezes.

"I'm not meant to be...allergic…to plants!" Saria managed to say before sneezing some more.

Nori had also noticed the difference of the trees to the usual forest ones. Some twisted into odd shapes while others had unusual markings and colouring.

Passing a lush green cluster of bushes, Saria tried not to sneeze but once again she couldn't help it.

"Aaaaaah!" The high-pitched voice of something that had gotten caught up in the sneeze squealed as it flew through the air. A golden trail of sparkles twirled around them before the world started to blur.

"What's going on?" Link heard himself saying but never got to see what happened next; both blacked out.

* * *

She was laying on something soft, she didn't know what but she knew it felt good. The area surrounding her was silent, only the wind whistled overhead as leaves rustled gently. Forcing her eyes open, she glanced curiously around, everything near her was so big! The leaves were huge, trees must have been one hundred times her size, the blades of grass seemed more like trees to her now. Rubbing her eyes, Saria hoped this was some crazy hallucination. 

"Hey Shorty." She heard Nori's voice call to her from behind.

"Shorty?" She asked confusedly. "I'm at least ten times your size." Looking down, she realised she was sitting on a large patch of moss.

"Correction, you were at least ten times my size." Nori's voice entered her head again. Turning to see where it was coming from, she gasped. There stood her fairy, the obvious difference was the height and how she could see every detail of his appearance so clearly. He gave off a light blue aura, his short dark blue hair sat in messy curls over his plain and yet somewhat good looking facial features. His clothes were more easily visible to her now, a jacket made from forest materials along with trousers to match. Long delicate wings stretched out of the back of his jacket.

"Huh?" Saria stared at him, now she was sure this had to be a dream. Walking closer, she examined the fairy, he was about the same height as Link, although the wings added an extra few inches.

"Saria?" Link stumbled through two blades of grass, "I think the world grew."

"I think we're the ones that changed." Saria motioned towards Nori who remained standing with his arms folded.

"Oh my gosh, it worked!" The high-pitched female voice shouted with excitement. A small golden fairy pushed her way through the bushes, brushing her simple dress free of dust, she waved to them.

"What worked?" Link adjusted his hat.

"Uh, you!" The fairy pointed an accusing finger at Saria. "You saved me! I was tangled in some leaves and you blew me out!"

"I'm happy my sneezing helped someone." Saria half smiled, then wondered how she wasn't sneezing anymore. "Do you know why I was sneezing so much?"

"Yes! We have a cure for it!" The girl jumped up and down. "Most of the plants in these woods are artificial infused with loads of icky chemicals. There's a cure in my village but only tiny people can get in so I tried my new shrinking spell and it worked!"

"Makes sense, but why is she not sneezing here?" Link glanced above, the towering trees made him dizzy.

"The grass near my village is real of course!" She yelled like it was the most obvious thing ever. "Anyway, I'm Madi, if you follow me I'll lead you to the village of sprites."

Trekking through the long grass, they hurried to keep up with the skipping Madi. Nori and Saria walked side by side while Link brought up the rear, it was weird to see Nori not fluttering over Saria's head or fussing with her hair as he usually did. The boy felt a little intimidated now that the he was the same size as Nori, shrugging, he carried on walking behind them; not like anything different was going to happen.

"Here we are!" The young sprite announced as they arrived at the base of an enormous tree. Placing her hand on a certain spot, Link and Saria watched in amazement as a door appeared in the bark.

"Did you know about things like this?" Saria asked Nori who replied with a smirk.

"Of course, where do you think sprites live in the forest? When or if they choose to become guardians they move into the Great Deku Tree's leaves though." Waiting for them to enter, he sealed the door behind them so no wandering insects would find their way in.

Leading them up a winding wooden staircase, Madi shoved open another door to reveal her village. Thick moss lined the ground setting a comfortable foundation for the large deku nut and seed houses scattered throughout the tiny village. Rows of yellow and green sparkling lights were dotted around the walls creating the only lighting in the tree.

"I'll go find the village elder, take a look around!" Madi skipped away into the crowds of golden sprites getting on with their daily lives.

"Why are they all the same colour?" Saria watched a group of children playing with each other in the centre of the village. Pausing their game, one of the children ran over and grabbed the nearest person to him who happened to be Link. Dragging him into their game, they started running around him laughing playfully.

"All fairies or sprites as these folk seem to like being called are gold before they become guardian fairies. When the Great Deku Tree picks the fairies, he gives each a different colour to suit their personality." Moving closer to the girl he placed a hand on her shoulder, "the blue shades are usually the most nit-picky."

"Got that right," Saria agreed. "Did you know what you were in for when you were selected for me?"

"Nope, but when we met I knew there was something special about you, how many other Kokiri have green hair and the annoying habit of exploring the Lost Woods whenever they get the chance?" Putting an arm around her, he fussed with her hair.

Smiling, Saria turned her attention back to Link who was being attacked with giant leaves by the young sprites; she couldn't help breaking into a fit of giggles.

Skipping out of a deku nut house, Madi rejoined them. "Okay, the Elder will see you now." Waving a hand to signal for them to follow her, she fluttered towards the house.

Escaping the hyperactive sprites, Link straightened out his tunic making sure to look respectable for a village elder.

Untangling herself from Nori's arm, Saria weaved her way through the kids slipping a hand in Link's. Sighing, Nori sluggishly trailed after them.

Entering the Elder's house, they were greeted with a humbly furnished home. A few small chairs made of pieces of wood filled most of the room along with a wooden table and bed in the corner. The scene reminded Saria of her house back in the forest, she hadn't stayed in it for weeks since she'd been busy in the temple.

An aged sprite sat quietly on one of the chairs, his rough features suggested he'd seen many years go by. Gesturing for them to take seats, he cleared his throat.

"I must apologize for young Madi's spell casting, we've been tutoring the new sprites for a while now in the art of shrinking, the unfortunate problem is, we haven't practised a counter hex yet." Stopping to brush away a bushy eyebrow, he continued. "We have our scholars working on one as we speak, until that time we offer you our hospitality here in the village." Taking a bottle from his robes, the Elder handed it to Saria. "This potion may be of use to you, we produced it to stop the chemicals infecting us. Since this is the only natural tree in these woods we do have a difficult time getting about."

Saria examined the bottle containing a dark bubbling liquid. Unscrewing the lid, she hesitantly drank a drop finding it tasted sweet like honey or those berries in the Lost Woods she'd forgotten the name of. Drinking more, her sinuses gradually cleared.

"Thank you, this is really good." Placing the bottle on the table, Saria could still taste the berries, she wondered where they grew in Tarical if there were no other real plants. "May I ask where you got the berries from?"

The Elder looked up quite shocked, how could this girl tell what ingredients were in the cure? Could she be….? No, Hyrule surely hadn't reached that era yet.

"If you must know, we sprites are originally from Hyrule. You must know by now that Meldora isn't a magical kingdom, when the Great War began in Hyrule, we fled here for safety. Without the protection of the Forest Sage we feared for our lives. Once we arrived here, we realised we couldn't live amongst these artificial plants, so we sent a group of brave travellers back to the Lost Woods to collect the berries. Using their seeds to grow more, we never had to return again." Finishing his story, the Elder glanced at the floor.

"You know, the war in Hyrule is over now." Link spoke for the first time in the house. "We're at peace once more. All of the Sages have awakened, I'm sure the Forest Sage would help you."

"The Sage is in Hyrule while we are here, I don't see how that's possible." The Elder had an obvious stubborn streak that wouldn't be easy to break.

"I-I'm the Forest Sage." Saria barely whispered. She realised being out of Hyrule meant she wasn't protecting the forest, thus giving them a bad first impression.

"There's our reason then." The Elder said pompously. "A forest without a dedicated Sage and only the Deku Tree protecting us isn't enough."

"Hold on a min-" Nori was about to counter that remark when Link beat him to it.

"That's not fair! Saria is here trying to make the forest a better place and you say something like that without even knowing her?" He would have gone on if Saria hadn't telepathically stopped him. Someone as old as the Elder wasn't going to change their opinion overnight.

"Madi, please take our guests and keep them entertained until the spell is complete." Not giving Link a direct reply, the Elder pointed them to the door.

Listening to a disheartened Saria talking to Link as they left the house, Madi sighed. She'd always wanted to see Hyrule, to meet the Great Deku Tree and to see where her parents grew up…or where they were taken from her. Seeing the door that went to the next floor of the tree, she remembered the special event they had going on that night.

"We're having a ball tonight! You have to come see the ballroom." She pushed open the wooden door hurrying them through.

"Wow." Was the only word Saria could say as they entered the luxurious hall. Light blue curtains were draped all the way around the walls, a blue dance floor had been crafted especially for the room to match the décor. On the far side was a large door that led to a decent sized balcony. Peering over the edge, she was blown away by the magnificent view of the treetops.

"This place is high even for me." Nori joined Saria on the balcony, Link shortly followed also impressed by the view.

Spinning around on the dance floor, an idea popped into Madi's head. Shaking her long hair out of her face, she scurried onto the balcony.

"Why don't you take part? We're having a dance competition and there's a special prize for the winners." Waltzing over to a stage, she pulled back a sapphire curtain to reveal a golden key twice their size.

_No way. Is that one of the keys?_ Link messaged Saria who looked as shocked as he did.

"I found it when I was out exploring one day," Madi said proudly. "But they made me offer it as the prize for tonight's ball. Oh well! It should be fun."

"So anyone can come to this ball?" Saria ran a hand along the shining key, turning her head she shot a devious look at Link who gulped nervously, he hated dancing but there was a very good reason for it.

_It was the day of the Kokiri Annual Ball, the dance area in front of the Great Deku Tree was ready and everyone was excited; everyone apart from Link that is. In preparation for the ball, this year the children had been paired together with their dance partners. Of course, Mido had come up with the pairing process of pulling names out of a hat and Link knew he had rigged it, what were the chances of Mido ending up with Saria? He himself had been paired with Rala, one of the twins. She was nice enough but it still wasn't fair, Saria didn't make him feel nervous. Usually he hid in the Lost Woods but couldn't get out of it this time, not being with his best friend made it all the more terrifying._

_The time of the ball arrived. Standing by the long buffet table which was covered with different kinds of food and drink, Link waited anxiously for Rala. Bouncing around the corner, the bubbly Rala waved cheerily to him, her shoulder length strawberry blonde hair bobbing up and down as she walked._

"_Hiya Link!" She smiled happily when she reached him. "Are you ready?"_

"_Ready as I'll ever be," Link mumbled miserably. Catching a glimpse of Mido with his arm around an annoyed Saria made the day even worse._

_For a while, things went smoothly. Link tried to dance with Rala the best he could but it wasn't that good, luckily, the chirpy twin didn't seem to mind. Dancing a few more songs, Link's confidence started to build, until Mido had to ruin it._

_Saria had disappeared for a moment giving the sly Kokiri leader a chance to cause trouble. Monitoring Link's movements, he waited for his chance then tripped the boy up. Tumbling backwards, Link flew into the table causing the whole group to burst out laughing. Unravelling himself from the mess, he'd taken as much humiliation as he could take in an hour._

_Running out of the Deku Tree's Meadow, he could still hear the laughing, as he neared the Lost Woods entrance it became even louder; he'd get Mido back one of these days._

_From that day, anything to do with dancing put him right off._

"Pleeeeaassseee!" Saria nagged Link who refused to practice with her.

"I'm no good at ballroom dancing." He insisted, there was no way he could do this.

"Can you at least try, for me?" Saria played the guilt card and boy did it work well.

"Urg, okay fine, I'll try." Link knew he was going to regret the decision.

"That's brilliant!" Madi clapped her hands, "you can practice in here if you like, no one will be up until later." Leaving the room, she left Link, Saria and Nori alone. Sitting on the stage, Nori waited to see what disaster these two would end up with.

Placing his hands on Saria's waist, he wiped the sweat from his brow as his body shook nervously. Moving her hands onto his shoulder, Saria thought they were about to begin when Link let go.

"I'm sorry, this isn't going to work." He looked at the floor, he hated to let her down.

Staring confusedly at Link for a second, it suddenly dawned on her why he didn't want to do this: the Kokiri Ball issue.

"It's alright, you don't have to if you don't want to." Dropping her arms, she hid her disappointment, she'd never gotten the chance to dance properly with Link at any ball. Glancing around, she realised she still needed a dance partner.

"I'll help you out…..if you want me to." Nori stood from the stage, Saria shot him an odd look, dancing with her fairy hadn't been something she'd imagined doing but it could work.

"I guess we could give it a try." Saria nodded.

Taking Nori's place on the stage, Link lay lazily across it spending the rest of the afternoon watching Saria and her fairy gliding over the floor with ease. They moved so well together, it made him slightly jealous, he wished he could get over some dumb prank that happened years ago.

A few hours later, Madi bounded in through the door.

"Now that you've practised we need to get you dressed!" Grabbing Saria's arm, the small sprite started dragging her away. "I found the perfect dress for you, your fairy looks fine as he is though."

"D-dress?" Saria stammered, she wasn't the type to wear dresses and rarely wore skirts, shorts were a better option for travelling or exploring. "Why do I need a dress?"

Madi rolled her eyes, "you can't go to a ball without a dress! Not any ball here anyway."

Pulling poor Saria roughly through the whole village, Madi finally stopped at a fancy looking seed. Pushing Saria in the door, a group of women eagerly gathered around her.

"Isn't she cute?"

"Her clothes could use some work though, they're clearly those of a tomboy."

"Such unusual hair colour."

These were the things the women whispered as they shoved her into a chair in front of a large mirror.

"How would you like your hair Dear?" A pretty female sprite asked as she threw a towel over Saria.

"I-I, what's wrong with it?" The Kokiri had never seen so many hair accessories and make up in all her life.

"Well, nothing. You have quite nice hair but you could do so much more with it." The woman began to brush through it, removing Saria's hair-band, both were amazed when her fringe fell the half way down the length of her face; she hadn't noticed how quickly it had grown. "Hmm, your fringe is the first thing that can be sorted. You won't need this anymore." The woman placed the hair-band on the counter before brushing the fringe behind Saria's ears. Reaching for a spray-like bottle, she sprayed the hair neatly into place. Picking up the brush once again, the sprite brushed through the rest of her hair attempting to stop it curling up but it didn't happen. However, she did mange to straighten it out a little so it didn't curl as much adding a bit of length to it.

Grabbing the hair-band, Saria placed it back on her head, even if she didn't need it any longer; one doesn't stop using a gift from the Goddesses so soon after they've given it.

"Now for makeup…" The woman pondered aloud.

"I don't want any thank you." Saria firmly said, she'd never liked the stuff when some of the girls made some in the forest, she wasn't going to have it slapped on her face just for the sake of a dance.

"Be grateful you already have a pretty face then Hon," the woman smiled. "At least let me powder it." She dipped a piece of cotton into some powder before Saria could protest, dabbing it on the girl's face she wrinkled her nose. "There, all done!"

"Fantastic!" Madi shouted with glee, peeking out the door she saw others heading to the ballroom. "We don't have time to get you a manicure, pedicure and all the other neat stuff I had planned, we'll just have to do with the dress."

Being ordered out of the mini salon, Saria was rushed across the village to Madi's home. Upon entering, Saria wondered where the girl's parents were, could someone so young really be living alone? She knew Kokiri looked younger than they were, but Madi didn't seem to be very old in body or mind.

"My parents were captured during the Great War, I don't know what happened to them afterwards." Madi replied to the concerned expression written on Saria's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Saria lamely replied, she didn't know what else to say.

"I'd love to go to Hyrule to see where they lived, it would be great to become a guardian fairy, the Elder won't hear any of it though." Ducking under a table, the sprite brought out the dress. "What do you think?"

Eyeing the dress, Saria was glad it was nothing too over the top. A simple green ball gown, green not to break her 'trend' obviously. The shade was slightly darker than her hair so they didn't clash. Feeling the material, she discovered it was quite soft, although, what it was exactly she had no clue.

Stepping outside so Saria could try the dress on, Madi watched the villagers hurrying to get ready for the ball. She never imagined she'd have the Forest Sage trying on clothes in her house, it was a surreal experience. Saria seemed to be a nice person though, someone people in the forest must turn to a lot when they need help. Perhaps Saria could help her? Nah, the Elder wouldn't allow it. Returning into her house, she was greeted with Saria admiring her outfit in a full length mirror.

"You look great." Madi complimented as she put the delicate straps of the dress neatly in place. "It suits your slender figure better than I hoped." Kneeling under the table for the second time, she brought out a pair of dark green dancing shoes.

"I don't think I can wear those." Saria winced at the heels on them, why couldn't she just dance in her boots?

"Try them, if they're too uncomfortable I have more." Madi shoved the shoes into her hands.

Pulling off her boots, Saria mumbled how it must be awful being a princess. Slipping the shoes on, she stood up only to fall flat on her face after taking a single step.

"Ok, we'll go with something similar yet flatter." Madi selected another pair which worked much better. Satisfied with the result, she rushed Saria out of the house.

Watching everyone arriving in the ballroom, Link wandered out onto the balcony. The moon which appeared twice as large for him now lit up the woods with its ghostly glow. Breathing in the cool night air, he stared at the stars embedded in the deep blue sky. There was no point him being inside, he'd just be in the way; didn't want to crash into any tables. Taking out the Fairy Ocarina, he turned the instrument around in his hand, placing it to his lips, he began to play a solemn tune making the notes up as he went.

Meanwhile, in the ballroom the warm up songs were about the begin. A band of professional sprites took to the stage to perform the night's music.

Loitering by the tables, Nori waited for Saria to enter. The moment she did, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, he'd never seen her looking so amazing in all the years he'd been her guardian.

"You look stunning." He extended a hand for her.

"Thanks," she smiled. Even though she didn't feel comfortable in the dress, she had to admit it did make her feel pretty. Glancing into the crowds, she wondered where Link had vanished to.

"Link went to get some air." Nori explained in answer to her wandering eyes.

Joining the others on the dance floor, they moved slowly to the first song.

With his arms loosely around Saria, Nori looked down at the girl he loved so dearly. He liked being able to hold her like this, all of those times he'd wished he wasn't just a tiny fairy that could only hug her finger at best. The days she'd spent moping in the Lost Woods, he'd wanted so badly to be able to comfort her more, to let her know that even if Link wasn't there she wasn't totally alone. Right now, she was the most attractive female he'd had the honour to dance with in a long while. Seeing her looking up at him, a strange urge overtook his mind, leaning down he lightly brushed his lips against hers.

"W-what're you doing?" Saria broke them apart, the shock of that action was too much to take in. Not waiting for an answer, she headed towards the balcony doors, what had Nori been thinking?

Mentally slapping himself, Nori realised what a stupid move that kiss was, he didn't know what had taken over him. Saria was a Kokiri, he was a fairy, not only that but he was meant to be her guardian fairy, what a great thing to do.

Opening the balcony door, Saria caught the end of Link's random song. Silently moving up behind him, she slipped her arms around his waist.

"Hi," she rested her head on his shoulder. "I thought you might be lonely." It was true she had thought that, the other reason for coming outside was to get some space from Nori.

"No, I'm-" Turning to face her, Link paused mid sentence, he couldn't believe how amazing she looked. "You're beautiful." He shook his head not being able to get over her appearance

"And I wasn't before?" She smirked playfully.

"T-that's not what I meant." Link fumbled clumsily over his words.

"I know," Saria leaned her head against him, his body felt warm compared to the cold air. "I also know you can dance."

"Not very good…." Images of himself tumbling into that table flooded back into his head. "Apart from that one ball, how do you know I can anyway?"

"I saw you in your house dancing with a deku stick once." She tried her best not to start laughing at the memory.

"Er no one was supposed to see that." Link would've been bright red if the pale moonlight hadn't been shielding the colour. "Besides, I was alone in my house."

"We're alone right now." Saria pointed out. "Unless, you don't want to."

"I'd do anything for you, but when the roaring laughter of the Kokiri keeps crawling back into my mind, it's hard to move on and you have to admit, it did go on for a while." His past hatred for Mido crept onto his face, pushing the thoughts aside, he tried to not let it get to him anymore.

"There's something I forgot to tell you." Saria recalled the incident that happened after Link left the Kokiri ball.

_Mido smirked triumphantly as Link ran out of the meadow, another win for him. Bowing to the laughter, he winked at a few of the girls._

_At the time, Saria had been hiding behind the Great Deku Tree taking a break from Mido's usual arrogant self centred behaviour. Hearing shrieks of laughter, she made her way back to the dance area to find Mido bowing to the group. Noticing the mess and the absence of Link, she guessed Mido had been a jerk yet again._

"_What did you do to Link?" The laughter died down as Saria questioned Mido._

"_I dunno, my foot must have a mind of its own, it was unlucky for No Fairy that he happened to fall over it." His lies were so transparent._

"_Right." Saria nodded then smiled sweetly. "Will you fetch me a drink Mido Dear?"_

"_Sure thing." He was surprised she hadn't jumped down his throat about picking on Link like she always did._

_Following Mido to the drinks table, she watched him pouring her a cup of berry juice from a large bowl. When he was done, she picked up the bowl and dunked it on his head, then took the cup and threw it in his face._

"_Sorry, I guess my hands have a mind of their own. So unfortunate that you got in the way." Heading off to find Link, she left the group in fits of laughter once more._

"So they were laughing louder at Mido, not me?" Link felt a wave of relief blow over him.

"Uh-huh." Saria grinned. "I think I deserve a dance for that, after all, I did dress for the occasion."

Link smiled, holding out a hand he led her to the centre of the balcony. "But I'm not." He mumbled realising he looked scruffy in comparison.

Searching through his tunic, Saria pulled out his fleece. "Better," she said as he put it on.

A new song started playing inside, the calm music rang out into the open air. This time Link didn't feel nervous as he placed his hands around her. Sliding her hands around his neck, Saria closed her eyes. There was no sweating, stumbling or banging into things, the pair moved as one over the wooden floor.

Peeking through the door, Madi watched them dancing in their own private world; it was truly a touching sight to behold.


	13. Madi's Decision

The sound of hooves clattering along echoed around the peaceful Lon Lon Ranch. Pulling her horse to a stop, Zelda wiped her brow; racing Malon always resulted in her losing, the ranch girl was just too good for her.

"Another victory for me!" Malon flung her arms into the air cheering for herself. Swinging both legs over one side of the horse, the farm girl lay back to gaze at the evening sky. "Do you think there could be a whole other world above the clouds?" She asked curiously.

"I doubt it." Zelda chuckled, slipping from her white horse, she gave it a loving pat on the nose. Unlike Malon, Zelda had been home schooled by professional tutors all her life, though, sometimes she wished she hadn't been since knowing the facts did limit her imagination. The princess guessed Malon had learnt everything from her family over the years.

Sliding from her horse, Malon began to lead the animal back to the stables. "Why do you doubt it?" She continued to ask the princess.

"Because, it's just not possible." Zelda explained as she followed the redhead into the stables.

"But why?" Malon wouldn't give up that easily.

"Um-" Zelda was about to break into the laws of physics when she got interrupted by a blinding white flash. The light faded to reveal an anxious Impa.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Malon gaped in amazement at the Sheikah woman, if the ranch girl's eyes hadn't been fixed securely in her head they would've shot across the room. Malon knew that a lot of people in Hyrule could use magic, she also knew of the Sages but didn't know who they were. Link had told her he was involved with them, although what the reason was, he would never give saying he didn't want to boast, he just did something to help the royal family a while back.

Cracking a slight smile, Impa turned to Zelda without giving Malon an answer. "Princess we have to leave right away." Her tone worried both Zelda and Malon greatly.

"What's wrong?" Zelda swallowed, she sensed something big was about to happen.

"Hyrule is being invaded." Impa stated calmly trying not to worry the girls too much.

"Invaded? What does this mean for Hyrule?" Malon thought back to when her father had told her about the war, hundreds of lives had been lost during that time, what if it happened again? Lon Lon Ranch was right in the centre of the field making it a very easy target.

"Malon, gather whatever defences you have here and get them ready." Zelda firmly explained. "We'll send some extra soldiers around to protect the ranch soon, hang in until then. This 'war' isn't even going to get far if I have a say in it."

"Defences?" Malon blinked obliviously, "will a pitchfork do?"

* * *

"Zelda we have to leave here!" Impa demanded as they warped back to the castle, "it's too dangerous for any royals to be in this area, the king has already evacuated to safer grounds." 

Spinning around to face her attendant, Zelda had a determined look in her eyes. "No Impa, not this time." Her voice rang with authority, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Zelda-" Impa tried to convince the girl to change her mind.

"I won't run anymore." Zelda interrupted the Shadow Sage. "I may be the princess of Hyrule but I'm also the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom and the seventh Sage, it's time for me to stand and fight with my people. Impa, I think I'm ready."

"But your training isn't complete." Impa was running out of ideas to make Zelda see how reckless she was being.

"I have my memories from the seven lost years don't I? I know enough to get by." The princess stubbornly insisted.

"Fine, if this is what you wish." Impa reluctantly gave in." I'll remain by your side."

"Thank you Impa," Zelda smiled, holding her right hand up, she focused her energy until the Triforce of Wisdom began to glow. After a bright flash, there stood what looked to be a teenaged Sheikah boy. Grabbing her cloak, Zelda wrapped it around herself then made to exit the castle. "Contact the rest of the Sages and tell them to put up the temple barriers, as for the forest, the Lost Woods should hold off any intruders, hopefully it won't get that far."

Over in Gerudo Valley, Nabooru stood atop the fortress surveying the vast desert. In the distance, she could see hundreds of tiny figures slowly approaching, Solar Knights, Meldora soldiers and whatever else that mad king had sent.

"They broke our deal," she mumbled to herself angrily. "Well if they want a war, they'll have one." Concentrating on a certain patch of sand in the desert, she flicked a hand into the air causing the sand to spin and twist up into a square human-like shape. Growing at least twenty feet taller, the monster let out a mighty roar. "My friendly local Sand Golem will take care of them." Nabooru smirked triumphantly. Pointing a finger towards the Spirit Temple, a glowing spirit symbol appeared brightly above it, rays of spirit energy pulsated from the symbol, the temple was now protected.

* * *

Returning to the ball room, Madi found Nori sat miserably on the edge of the stage. Skipping up to him, she poked his arm mischievously. 

"You look like you could use a dance partner." Grabbing his shirt, she pulled him up; how a sprite half his size had managed that was unknown to him.

"I-I really don't want to-" Not waiting for Nori to answer, Madi whisked him off onto the dance floor just as the previous song was ending.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the contest so grab your partners and get ready to dance!" An announcer yelled from the stage. In a flash of multicolour, the lights were replaced with sparkling disco balls over the dance area. Pairs of sprites took their places on the floor ready for the first song.

Immediately after the music blared from the tiny instruments, Madi clutched at Nori's hands, spinning around with him at an incredible speed, she laughed insanely while Nori looked like he was about to throw up.

"You want to win this contest, don't you?" Madi shot him a serious glare.

Shaking himself out of his daze Nori knew she was right. Glancing towards the balcony door, he saw Saria and Link re-entering hand in hand. Continuing to stare, he nearly fainted when Saria looked over to him, but instead of frowning, she smiled and waved cheerily. She wasn't mad with him? That was a relief. Continuing to watch, he followed their movements as they sat at one of the tables at the side. Link leaned closer to her whispering something, Saria smiled then shrugged in response.

"Yeah…I want to win this." He nodded firmly at Madi, if the others weren't going to try it was all up to him to get that key.

"Sorry about this, I'm letting you down aren't I?" Link sighed, he was ruining their only chance of getting the key.

"You never let me down." Saria placed a hand on his. "I don't think we even needed to enter." She smirked motioning towards Nori and Madi who were now doing some form of the Tango across the dance floor. She thought it best not to tell Link about what had happened, it had all been a simple misunderstanding so there was no need to drag it on, she just wanted to forget about it.

"Right." Link smiled, He didn't know what he'd done to deserve Saria, she understood him perfectly. She was kind, caring, smart, pretty, and so much more, everything he could ask for. Of course, she wasn't perfect but he loved her in spite of her quirks. The way she'd always obsess and put herself out for animals or how she would drop into third person when she was really upset or confused. She hadn't done the latter for quite awhile now, the aging must have brought her out of it. "What if they don't win though?" He snapped out of his thoughts.

"We'll take it by force." Saria stated sounding very serious. Seeing Link's raised eyebrow, she laughed. "Only kidding, we'll just have to put on our begging rags."

Turning their attention back to the dancing, they watched in awe as Madi cart-wheeled across the floor, sprang into the air and was caught by Nori who twirled around while holding her above his head.

Passing by their table, a waiter placed a tray of unusual looking drinks in the centre. The reddish-brown liquid twinkled in the dimly lit room.

"I am a little thirsty." Link took one of the glasses, lifting it to his nose he didn't recognise the smell.

"Me too." Saria ran a finger along the rim of one of the glasses. Glancing around the room, she saw waiters handing out similar drinks to other spectators. "Must be fine to drink," she mumbled. Taking a sip, the liquid sent a burning sensation down her throat. "Ugh, this stuff is disgusting and yet makes you want more."

Link nodded in agreement, the more he drank, the more relaxed he felt.

"Hic, excuse me." Saria giggled as a red bubble floated out of her mouth. Finishing her second glass, she started to feel dizzy.

"The winners of the contest are Madi and her charming new friend!" The announcer shouted over the crowds. Everyone clapped and cheered, they had definitely proven to be the best dancers that night.

"Whoohoo!" Madi hugged Nori nearly cutting his air supply off. Spinning around on one foot, the sprite went over to collect the key.

Nori smiled then noticed Saria wandering over to him, she had a dazed look on her face.

"You won! That's so great, now you're a true Kokiri." She wasn't making much sense and her voice was somewhat slurred.

"Are you ok Saria?" Nori asked anxiously. Looking behind her, he spotted the empty glasses….what had she been drinking?

"I'm peachy." She grinned then linked arms with him. "We need to talk." Dragging her fairy out of the room amongst the chatting crowds, they left Link to help Madi with the key.

"How did a little thing like you carry a big thing like this?" Link squinted at the key, he was sure it hadn't been so enormous earlier. Rubbing his eyes, he held his head as the key danced before him.

"Hello Link, will you be my friend?" His mind began to play tricks on him, the key was talking!

"It-it-it!" He pointed a finger at the innocent key. "It's speaking to me!"

"You're crazy," Madi laughed. "I used a levitation spell to carry it here but now I'm banned from using spells for a whole month!" Pouting, she gripped a piece of the key while Link struggled to keep himself standing while attempting to carry it down to her house.

* * *

Walking through the village in silence, Nori was waiting for Saria to speak to him, to yell or lecture him, anything at all would've been good. Instead he was being forced try and keep her standing. 

Pulling him to a stop, Saria tried to focus her vision. "I wanted to sa-" The world started to spin, Nori's image split into two. "When did you get a twin?" She blurted out before fainting on him.

Lifting her into his arms, Nori was sure he recognised what she smelt of now. It had been so long.

Dragging the key into Madi's house, Link was surprised to see Saria laying asleep on one of Madi's long chairs. Placing the key by the wall, he tried to turn around but ended up passing out onto the floor.

"Not Link too." Nori huffed, picking the boy up from behind, he pulled him up onto another chair.

"Were they drinking a bit too much Fairy Ale?" Madi started laughing at Nori who slapped his forehead. "You know, it isn't meant for young people though, that's why they've passed out. How old are they?"

"Saria is um….and Link is…uh…" It was hard for him to remember. Both were older than they appeared, what with living in the forest where even Link's age wasn't truly known having some Kokiri magic infused into him. Then there was the time travelling, the lost years, it made his head spin. "I don't know, I just know their bodies are too young for that stuff." Kokiri weren't accustomed to such beverages, the Deku Tree had always made sure none of them accidentally found any ingredients to make the drinks.

"They'll wake up when they've slept it off." Madi walked over to her key, admiring the golden exterior, she sighed.

"Were you planning on doing something with it?" Nori asked curiously.

"Not really, when I found it I just thought it would be my key….a key to a new life." She went to sit down until she realised all of her chairs were occupied. "No idea what it's actually for."

He was seeing a sombre side of the girl that he hadn't expected to show. "Well, we were looking for keys like that, we were-"

"Taking it back to Hyrule?" Madi perked up.

"I assume so." Nori yawned.

"I see." Madi nodded thoughtfully, something was playing on her mind. "We should get some sleep."

* * *

Her head ached terribly, groggily opening her eyes, Saria blinked a few times. Why did everything look so bright to her? 

"Morning." A high voice squeaked, it sounded like whoever it was screamed it loudly in her ear.

"Aaah, why are you talking so loud?" Saria held her head, a throbbing feeling pounding through it.

"This is my quiet voice." Madi tilted her head to the side.

"Oh…okay." Saria looked around the room to see Link sleeping in the chair opposite. "I think I'll get some air." She headed out of the house only to realise she wouldn't get much air inside a tree.

"You slob." A voice said jokingly as she stepped outside. Turning to her left, she saw Nori leaning against the wall, his arms folded and a slight smirk on his face.

"Not remembering anything past drinking a strange liquid is probably a good reason for my still wearing this dress." It wasn't a habit of Saria's to wake up wearing such clothes, why she'd forgotten half the night she didn't know.

"Yeah, you and Link were out of it. Tila would never let you live this down you know." The fairy reminded Saria of one of the Kokiri girls who had a massive crush on Mido, thus seeing Saria as a sort of rival, even though the green-haired girl had never shown any interest in Mido that way.

"Don't even remind me," Saria groaned at the memories. Tila's attitude was a fine example of immaturity amongst the Kokiri, but after all, they were only kids so what would one expect? "Oh my, what would the Deku Sprout say?" She gasped, what would the guardian of the forest think of this?

Nori laughed softly. "Saria, you can do what you want now. The Deku Sprout wants you to grow and experience outside life."

"That's true…" Living under the Deku Sprout's care felt like a lifetime ago when in reality it had been what? About a week?

"Listen, about last night-" Nori began but was shortly cut off.

"I wanted to say something about that." Although she had wanted to forget it, Saria knew something had to be said.

Linking arms, they took a stroll around the village. Most of its inhabitants were still peacefully sleeping after the busy night's events.

Nori waited anxiously for her to speak, he knew she liked taking her time to plan what she was going to say when it was important but the silence was starting to get to him.

Not wanting to wait anymore, he broke the silence. "I'm sorry about last night, it shouldn't have happened. I'm meant to be watching over you and look what I go and do. I'll understand if you'd rather I left you alone."

"No! Of course I don't want to you to leave!" Saria snapped out of her thoughts. "You've been an important part of my life. You know things about me not even Link knows… Things I'm not exactly proud of."

Nori nodded in understanding, all of Saria's memories up until she had become a Sage had come back to him too when she'd regained them.

"I'll probably tell him someday but not now, it's not the right time. Do you think he'd think differently of me, if he knew?" A sad expression crossed her face.

"Never," the fairy firmly shook his head. "Any idiot can see how much he loves you. Link was a good kid and he's growing into a fine young man. I've acted like a spoilt child just because I felt that you weren't going to need me anymore."

"But I'll always need you, you're my guardian fairy. No one can take that place." Saria placed a hand on his arm, it was obvious Nori had been in a bad mood about this whole thing but she hadn't realised how upset he had been feeling lately.

"Only children need guardian fairies." Nori said blankly before gently brushing her hand from his arm.

"What are you saying?" Saria frowned, she hated when he edged around an issue.

"Nothing, ignore me." Shaking his head, Nori shot her a smile. "You should get changed unless you want to go travelling like that today." Watching her walk back the Madi's, he saw Link standing in the door, a hand on what was probably an aching head.

"Man, I have no idea what I did after having those odd drinks last night." Link mumbled as he stumbled over to Nori.

The fairy grinned as he watched the boy staring at the ground. "Hey Link?" His tone sounding serious. "Will you promise me something?"

"Huh? What is it?" Link wasn't used to Nori addressing him in such a serious manner.

"Look after Saria, and I mean look after. She's given up a lot for you so don't abandon her later down the line. I don't want to think of her being alone, she's had too much of that in her life already, but you already know how that feels." Nori inwardly knew that Link wouldn't hurt Saria but he had needed to make sure Link heard his feelings.

"I wouldn't dream of doing that. Saria's the most important person in my world, last night showed me how amazing she is all over again and if I could, I'd take her in my arms and hold her close for all eternity. As cheesy as that sounds." A slight blush crept onto Link's face, it wasn't often he shared his more personal feelings with anyone other than Saria.

"No, that's not cheesy, it's a sweet thought." Nori's mood changed into a more pleasant one. "Overall, I'm glad Saria has you. I'd prefer if you were a full blooded Kokiri but at least I know you, not like she stood at the forest entrance falling in love with random Hylians."

Link smiled, Saria was lucky to have a fairy like Nori. It was times like these that made him miss Navi and even Tatl. Leaving Nori to his thoughts, Link went off to find out if the new spell was ready.

* * *

After speaking with the Elder, Link, Saria and Nori made their way back to the spot in the woods where Madi had shrunk them. 

"Hey!" Madi's voice shrieked behind them. The tiny sprite appeared outside dragging the key along with her. "You might want this."

"We can have it?" Saria asked, now in her usual clothes.

"Sure….if…uh…" It was odd for Madi to be speechless. "If….can I come with you? I won't be any trouble, I'm entertaining, good to talk to, a nice nightlight-"

"You can come." Link interrupted her before she could ramble on any further. "You do know we're not going back to Hyrule straight away though, don't you?"

Madi nodded. "At least I know we'll get there eventually. Oh wow, I can be a guardian fairy now!"

"Well, you have to be trained by the Deku Sprout and older fairies first." Nori pointed out.

"You can get in some practice by being Link's." Saria laughed at his scared expression.

"Goody." He sighed, why did he always attract the annoyingly loud fairies?

"Yay! You'll be perfect training!" Madi latched onto Link's side. He turned one way to try to get her off but she clung tightly. Turning another way, he wanted to cry when she remained stuck to him. "I'll go pack while we wait for the Elder!"

"You should go help her carry her things Link." Saria suggested to the recovering boy.

"I'm sure she can manage, but being the gentleman I am, I'll go." Link trudged after the hyper sprite hoping she wouldn't glue herself to him again.

Nori grinned at Saria who was staring intently at the sky.

"You still want to know what it's like to fly?"

"To have that sense of freedom must be incredible." She replied admiring the morning clouds.

Moving behind her, Nori slipped his hands tightly around her waist. "Going up!" Without warning, he shot into the air.

"Whoa, what are you doing!?" Saria screamed as she felt herself shooting straight up, leaves rustling harshly each time they touched one. Bursting through the top of the trees, she gasped in awe at the view. The entire kingdom laid out before them The morning sun bounced off the far away ocean as seagulls swooped serenely above it. Soli City sat sleepily at the bottom of the hill, the train speeding along the thin winding track.

"Just showing you the view." Nori spoke behind her.

"Wow, being able to fly whenever and wherever you want while seeing these views must be amazing." Saria breathed in the fresh air.

"I guess I take it for granted and I don't usually fly this high as you know." Nori chuckled. "Sorry I can't show you more but we should be getting back now."

Hovering back down to the ground, they landed neatly just as Link, Madi and an angry Elder came out of the tree.

"I'm not happy about you leaving Madi even if it isn't my place to stop you." The Elder took out a small magical pouch.

"I'm sorry Elder, my parents lived in Hyrule….I just want to see it…" Madi looked at the floor, she didn't want to disappoint the village leader.

"If that is what you wish child." The Elder cracked a smile, he wouldn't hold her back from her dream any longer. "Now, assuming you two are ready, I will pour this spell on you."

Taking each other's hand, Link and Saria nodded. Leaning over them, the Elder broke the pouch, green and yellow dust sprinkled over them and a moment later they were standing at their usual heights once more.

"Whoohoo!" Madi flew up to face them. Flying under Link's hat, she giggled wickedly. "You have puffy hair." She pulled at a strand of blond hair causing Link to wince.

"Hair I'd like to keep on my head." Link mumbled.

Thanking the Elder for his troubles, they were finally able to leave the woods with the first key in hand.

"Goodbye Elder, I'll never forget you!" Madi's voice echoed through the trees.

* * *

Exiting the woods, they found a path with tall cliffs surrounding both sides. Taking out the map, Link looked at the nearest town name. 

"Pelotrona?" He wondered what it would be like

Carrying on up the path, they came to a dead end totally closed off by cliffs. A very thick stone pillar was in the centre of the clearing, however, no town was in sight.

"The town of Pelotrona is in the sky!" Madi chirped cheerfully.

"Wha?" Saria looked towards the clouds, and there it was, at the top of the pillar was an enormous flat circular rock barely visible through the mist. "A town, in the sky? How do we get to it?"

* * *

The floor behind him was cold, so cold that his back was literally burning from the icy touch. He was laying flat on what appeared to be a slab of thick ice. His hands and legs were clasped tightly to the block making any movement impossible. From what he could see of the place he was in, it was a small cave-like room, the walls were made entirely of ice along with the floor. Clanging noises could be heard in the distance like the sound of tools hitting metal. He'd never been here before, where could it be? The last thing he remembered was that woman grabbing him and warping them both out of the palace. 

"Ah, you're finally awake." A female voice entered the room. Towering over his helpless figure, Coral smirked deviously.

"What do you want with me?" Taj growled, this woman had no right to hold him like this.

"I haven't decided yet." Coral ran a slender finger along his pale face. "For a Sheikah you're not very good at keeping yourself hidden, are you?"

"Who says I was raised as one?" Taj spat before thinking about what he'd just said. Tugging at the clasps on his wrists, he tried to pull them apart but it was no good. "Not that it's any of your business."

"I have no interest in knowing what you are, all I want is to know what you're doing in what will soon be my kingdom." Hovering a hand over his body, she summoned the map from within his shirt. Unfolding the tattered paper, she glanced curiously at it. "Hmm, I see. Ganondorf told me of these keys many years ago, how they have the power to return the Poe Sisters to their original forms. The boy and girl, they're the ones searching for them, I should've known the first time I saw them. Yes, I haven't seen much from the boy but the girl is powerful, we can't have them helping Hyrule."

"Getting those keys won't help Hyrule!" Taj yelled.

"Of course you'd say that boy, you don't want me to get to them first." She folded the map, placing it in her robes.

"Pfft, I'd rather tear my eyes out than help Hylians…but I have a debt to repay." The cold must have been affecting Taj's mind, he kept yelling things he shouldn't.

"Oh? Who are you working for?" She was getting somewhere at last. This boy may have been a Sheikah by blood but there was something about him, his attitude wasn't typical of them. "I myself despise Hylians, stuck up race, think they're far better than everyone else because of their precious Triforce. They make excellent slaves though, no Triforce to save them now, is there?" She laughed triumphantly.

"Hylians wiped out my village." Taj recalled the war when his friends and family were taken from him in one swift attack. The details were a bit of a blur but he knew they'd done it. "After everything we Sheikah did for them, they couldn't help themselves. Then he came along and took me in, telling me how those Hylians destroyed my village."

Not wondering who 'he' was, an idea swirled into Coral's head. "We both dislike Hylians, if we worked together we could put an end to this shameful attempt to restore the Poe Sisters. I'd make sure you were greatly rewarded for your efforts."

Taj pondered over the woman's proposition. If she had known Ganondorf, why did she want to stop Link and Saria finding the keys? Did she know something he didn't? Or was she more misinformed than she let on? He thought about denying her offer but then something dawned on him, if he accepted, she'd let him go free.

"Alright, I'll help you. If you return my map to me, I'll get as many keys as I can and bring them to you."

"Glad you see things my way." Coral clicked her fingers and the clasps loosened. Handing him the map, she pointed to the town in the north-west. "That's where those trouble makers are headed now I'd imagine. Wait for them to return then take the keys. There's another key at the palace, it was a gift I gave to the king after Ganondorf told me to take care of it, don't take that one!"

"Right." Taj nodded as he was encased in a warp spell.

Waiting for the spell to take the boy back to Soli City, Coral smirked to herself. "Now that he's out of my way…." She turned around to see a dark figure in the shadows of the room. "Create a beast and send it to the north-west, I want those kids killed. I don't care what you send, just make sure it's powerful enough to deal with them."

"My pleasure Empress." The figure waved a hand over a cup, the tealeaves swirled into the air forming the shape of a large dragon. Moving out of the cave, the figure let the dragon come to life. "I hope you've been practising, Hero."


	14. Flying High

"We fly of course!" Madi twirled up towards the town delightedly.

"Of course…." Saria shook her head, flying would have been fine if they actually had wings.

"Madi, you're forgetting me and Saria can't fly," Link pointed out the obvious. Wandering around the giant pillar, he searched for any sort of hookshotable target or climbing area. How else did the people who lived there get up?

Suddenly, there was a loud squawk followed by the sound of wings flapping. Looking up, they saw a familiar multicoloured bird gliding down towards the ground, however, unlike the first bird they met, this one was slightly bigger.

Digging its large yellow talons into the ground, the bird perched itself in front of them. On its back sat a boy who in appearance looked only a few years older than them.

"Good work this morning Feril," the boy slid from the bird known as Feril. Running a hand through his thick, bushy brown hair, he turned to look at the newcomers. "What're folk like y'all doin' way up here?" he asked in an accent that reminded Link of Malon and Talon.

"We were wondering how to get up there," Saria explained as she took in his appearance. He wore a baggy, dark green jacket over a dark shirt, black trousers covered his legs along with dirty brown boots to finish. Physically, he was on a similar scale to Link, not thin but certainly not fat. Whatever he did for a living, it definitely kept him in shape.

"Only way up is to fly," he replied, winking at her with his dark eyes. As he turned, they all got a shock, his right arm was gone!

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to your arm?" Link spoke, it wasn't often he met someone with one arm.

"Oh, sure. This guy here," he motioned his head to Feril, "he stuck his beak clean through it. Hurt like heck it did, but that's life."

He laughed at their startled expressions.

"Don't look so surprised, I was only a kiddy at the time, my own fault really. If ya know how to treat 'em, these birds can be your best friends," he gave Feril a gentle pat on the back.

"What exactly are they?" Saria had been wanting to know what the thing they'd rescued was called for a while now.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Pepeckerieelefeerts?" he smirked.

"Peperieelepeck…what?" Link's head was spinning at the name.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Pepeckerieelefeerts! Or Pepeckeri if you want to shorten it. If you'll be wanting to get up to Pelotrona you'll be needing at least one."

"Would you be able to help us?" Saria asked hopefully.

"Sure, if ya can both say their full name properly," he grinned wickedly.

"Pepperilepepip, popperipeckfeert, pecklepeert…" All of the Ps were making Link tongue-tied.

"Pepeckerieelefeert?" Saria tilted her head to the side. "Interesting name."

"You're good cutie, but can you spell it?" he slid his arm around her shoulders, amused by her thoughtful look.

"Pepeckerieelefeert! I think I'll stick with Pepeckeri though," Link sighed then frowned. "How about you keep your hands, or uh, hand to yourself and help us?"

"Yeah, yeah, ok. I'll let you off on the spelling," he gave a loud whistle resulting in another squawk from high above. A second Pepeckeri flew elegantly down landing next to the boy. "This here is Eckle, my other Pepeckeri. I have three altogether but that runt Perri disappeared, he loves wandering too far from home, stupid bird."

Both Link and Saria shot each other knowing glances but didn't get the chance to say anything.

"Anyway, name's Travis, nice to meet yer," Travis shook their hands as they introduced themselves, then nodded to acknowledge the 'sparkly lights', is what he liked to call the fairies. "Now, y'all can borrow one each and I'll instruct yer."

Link eyed the birds cautiously, it's not that he was scared, he'd just never imagined it was possible to fly on a bird's back before. Saria on the other hand, was ecstatic about it all. If she couldn't fly herself, flying on a bird would be the next best thing. He smiled as he watched her petting Feril, she really did love animals, even the ones that could potentially rip your arm off.

"Yup, these birds are one of the only kind that are strong enough to hold people on their backs," Travis explained. "Feril's taken a shine to you, cutie," he winked at Saria who didn't pay him any attention.

"Don't you know how to use people's real names?" Link huffed, he didn't like watching people flirting with his girlfriend.

"I'll call you cutie too if ya want." Travis grinned at a flustered Link, the blond boy didn't have a reply for that.

Carefully climbing on Feril, Saria was glad to find they were more comfortable to sit on than horses.

"So, are these like horses?" Link asked as he mounted Eckle.

"Horses?" Travis raised a brow. "These are birds, not horses!"

"I know that, but-"

"Birds, not horses Link!" Madi yelled while bopping the aggravated Link on his head.

"Ok! I get it!" he shouted swatting at the hyper fairy. Was she trying to crack his skull? Because it sure felt like it.

Saria faced the opposite direction trying to stop herself from laughing as Nori perched himself on her shoulder and rolled his eyes, a slight smirk crossing his amused face.

"Right, enough horse talk," Travis stood in between the two birds then turned to Link. "Eckle seems to like you, usually she tries to bite the head off people she meets for the first time."

Link gulped, couldn't someone simply throw down a very long rope ladder for them to climb to Pelotrona?

Before anyone could say anything else, Feril took off from the ground, his large wings sending a gust of wind behind him.

"Whoa, what did I do?" Saria clutched on tightly to the bird.

"Feril's eager," Travis noted. "Hold onto the base of his neck then tap the side you want to turn!"

Following Travis' instructions, Saria was able to fly in a circle around the pillar.

"This is easier than I thought it would be," she said to Nori who was hoping she wouldn't get too confident and fall off.

Moving over to Link and Eckle, Travis whacked the bird lightly on the side. "Show cutie number two a good time Eckle," he laughed as Eckle shot into the air, a startled Link shooting him an annoyed glare.

Managing to gain some control, Link navigated Eckle around the pillar.

"This is great!" Saria beamed at Link who returned the smile, he had to admit flying was pretty cool, not even Epona could give him this sense of freedom.

"Go a lil' higher if you want," Travis yelled up to them. "They could use the exercise. Move your hands up their necks, they'll know what to do after that."

Sliding their hands up the Pepeckeri necks, Link and Saria were amazed when they flew up through the clouds. Popping up the other side, they gazed down over the tumbled down town of Pelotrona.

"Pelotrona!" Madi squealed from beneath Link's hat, clutching the material between her small hands, she held on as the wind swirled around them.

"Looks a bit of a mess," Link commented on the sight below him.

Old farmhouses with small fields in front were the only buildings not half ruined in view. Groups of people wandered through the town, some stood and chatted, while others led various Pepeckeri to their homes.

Saria hadn't even looked at the town yet, she was too busy enjoying the flight.

"We should rename her Butterfly," Link shook his head smiling.

"Butterfly! Butterfly!" Madi giggled loudly.

"Who are you shouting at?" Saria turned Feril to look at the others.

Out of nowhere, came a bitter wind followed by an icy mist floating down. Behind Saria appeared two large, bright gleaming white eyes. A moment later, an enormous body of a dragon made entirely of ice materialised in the sky. Stretching its giant wings behind it, the beast let out a low growl.

"Aaah Butterfly!" Madi shrieked.

"Saria!" Link tried to push Eckle forward but the bird was frozen with fear.

* * *

Arriving back in the city, Taj glanced around him before taking out the map. No ice witch was going to tell him what keys not to get, if one was in the palace, he would try to get it again. 

Making his way through the city, he walked by the Hyrulean inn.

Having no more customers, the owner was keeping himself occupied by spying on passers in the street. Noticing Taj, he recognised the boy as being the one he'd seen pestering his favourite customers a few nights back. Picking up an object from behind his desk, he strolled out to follow the unsuspecting Sheikah.

_Whack_

Taj received a heavy blow to his head from a wooden club.

"No one causes trouble for my favourite customers, I saw you skulking outside the other night," the owner said while dragging an unconscious Taj back to the inn. Kicking open a closet door, he shoved the boy in there for now. What would he do when Taj woke up? He'd deal with that when it happened.

* * *

The sand golem slammed its gigantic hand over the helpless soldiers. The more experienced men managed to evade the attack but, many others lost their lives as a large hand crushed them into the sands. 

"This is too easy," Nabooru yawned from her usual spot atop the fortress.

Suddenly, a loud blast shot through the golem knocking it clean off its feet. Tumbling to the desert floor, the golem drowned another group of men before sinking back into its sandy lair. A row of Solar Knights appeared where the golem had been standing, the blazing sun giving them a new burst of energy.

"That's more like it," the Spirit Sage smirked. "Alright women, attack the soldiers but leave the heaps of metal to me!" Leaping into the crowds of Gerudo, Nabooru led them into battle. Casting simple spells to distract the men, she weaved her way through the fray.

The Gerudo may not have been a magical race but they made up for it in physical strength. Spears clashed with swords, scythes slashed through shields, the Meldoran army wasn't much of a match for these women.

"Out of my way!" Nabooru sent her bare fist into a man's face sending him flying to the ground, no one was going to stop her. Ducking under a surprise attack, she cast a blast of spirit energy behind her causing a line of men to crash into each other. Arriving at the Solar Knights' area, she grit her teeth in frustration. How would she handle these things?

"Time Break!" a new voice entered the battle. A ripple of energy pulsated over Nabooru's head, slamming into the row of knights, it froze them in their tracks.

Sheik landed neatly next to the Gerudo leader.

"What're you doing here?" Nabooru asked, she hadn't been expecting Zelda to make an appearance, even if it wasn't actually as herself.

"I was just passing by the neighbourhood, thought I'd lend a hand," Sheik grinned.

"Well can you do that spell on them all?" Nabooru was quite impressed at how the girl had disabled a whole row of knights.

"Sorry, it took a lot out of me to use that one. Let's finish them off before they regain control of themselves," Sheik took a breath, she hoped she had enough energy to keep going for awhile longer.

Levitating the knights into the air, Nabooru had a fun time slamming them into walls and sending them hurling into oblivion.

"Lady Nabooru!" a Gerudo warrior called to her leader. "A large group of soldiers have slipped by us! They have a few of those metal things with them too!"

"Great," Nabooru growled. "Take care of business here for now, Hyrule's other defences will have to deal with the rest."

Throwing herself into the midst of the soldiers, Zelda used all the skills Impa had taught her to perform as Sheik the best she could. Throwing one man over her shoulder, she wiped her brow; these people weren't going to away anytime soon, something drastic needed to be done.

Holding her hands out in front of her, she focused her remaining energy into the spell. An orb of bright light formed at the tips of her fingers, growing larger by the second, it blinded the surrounding soldiers. When she was satisfied, she held her hands above her head then slammed them into the ground. A massive dome of white energy erupted from her very being, tearing along the sand, it sent anyone in its path soaring out of the way.

When the attack was over, Sheik looked up to view the results of her work. Bodies littered the ground in every direction she turned, some were Gerudo but most were Meldoran soldiers. It wasn't meant to come to this, but what could she do? Let them destroy her father's kingdom?

* * *

Screams echoed around the small village of Kakariko as Meldoran soldiers captured innocent bystanders. The villagers were defenceless, the weapons they did have were useless against the raging army. Their only hope was to pray that someone would come to help them. 

Making their way to the graveyard, the soldiers stopped at the entrance. The resting place of the dead was silent, an eerie wind whistled between the headstones sending chills down their spines.

"Quit being wimps and smash this place to pieces!" the one who seemed to be in charge yelled.

Obeying, the men slashed through the gravestones, pieces of grit and rubble flew everywhere. They would have gone on until there was nothing left, but something stopped them.

A shadow moved across the floor, weaving its way along the path, it came to a halt by the base of the Shadow Temple. The purple symbol of shadow suddenly appeared over the temple entrance.

"I would not disturb the dead if I were you," a calm but firm voice spoke over the noise. Impa rose out of the shadow, glaring at the startled men, she said something in the ancient Sheikah language.

The ground began to shake violently, before they could attempt to run, rotten hands shot out of the ground while ghostly shadows flew out of open graves, wailing loudly.

"Leave this village while you still can," Impa threatened.

Without needing anymore warnings, the ones who hadn't already been dragged underground ran out of the graveyard in a fit of scared shouts.

"Cowards," Impa sighed, real men were hard to come by these days.

* * *

Ruto stood on the banks of Lake Hylia overlooking the peaceful water. The area around her was silent, only the sound of guays flapping overhead could be heard. Pointing a finger towards the summit of the Water Temple, she summoned the water symbol causing rays of energy to seep into her body. 

Turning to look at the entrance to the lake, she heard noises. Running footsteps, clattering armour; they were coming.

Her suspicions were correct when she saw part of the Meldora army appear at the top of the bank. But surely they wouldn't attack a female on her own, surely these men had some heart.

They charged.

Of course they didn't! That's why she was ready.

"Attack!" she screamed.

Immediately at their princess' command, hundreds of Zora guards dove out of the water. Diving in an arch over Ruto, they rolled onto the ground ready to protect their lake.

Boomerangs, fish bows and of course the Zoras' special attack, the electric shield, were all used with the greatest skill against the soldiers. Fighting with elegance and grace, the Zoras made the battle look like a well performed dance. Screams echoed through the air as they stunned and shocked their victims into unconsciousness.

A pair of Solar Knights eventually appeared on the bank, not wanting them to try anything, Ruto decided it was her turn to step in.

Calling forth the powers of water, she turned towards the lake. Staring solemnly at the clear depths, she silently chanted something.

The liquid rose with a thunderous roar out of the lake, towering behind Ruto, it raged forward, smashing down over the battle. Ruto repeated the attack a few times until she was ready for part two.

The Zora guards braced themselves for Ruto's next attack, they knew what was coming and had been trained for many years on how to survive it.

The water on the grass twisted into a tall waterspout, twirling along the banks, it dragged the remaining survivors into its watery body.

Ruto knew that her people could withstand these attacks, she would have never attempted them if they couldn't.

Soldiers, Solar knights and Zora guards swirled around within the waterspout, anyone who couldn't breathe underwater would drown instantly, those who weren't Zoras and did survive somehow, would die from the impact of the fall afterwards.

Ending the spell, she turned away from the mass of bodies tumbling to the ground. The Solar Knights hit the grass with a thud, their metal bodies filled with water were useless now.

Ruto knew she could be unreasonable at times, but she never wanted this. It had been her people or them, there really was no other choice. Holding back a tear, she instructed the guards to help their casualties but leave the rest until they knew the war was over.

* * *

"Oh no," Nori gasped at the enormous dragon behind them. "You should do something!" he yelled at a stunned Saria. 

"R-right," she stammered, the thing was huge!

Before she could attempt to move, Link shot an arrow at the snarling beast, but it did nothing apart from anger it more.

Stretching its wings again ,the dragon sent one crashing into Feril, Link had angered it, so any objects in the way had to be dealt with, those objects being Saria and the bird.

The next few seconds were the worst Link had ever lived through. The only thing he could hear was Saria scream as Feril tumbled backwards through the air and then, she fell.

"Saria!!" he heard himself and Nori screaming. Giving Eckle a whack like he'd seen Travis do, he was able to get the bird moving. Rocketing down after Saria, there was only one thing on his mind - saving her. Letting her hit the ground wasn't an option.

Then, something he hadn't been expecting happened. A familiar squawk screeched onto the scene. In the blink of an eye, a small Pepeckeri swooped under Saria, catching her safely.

Sitting up, Saria couldn't believe she was alive. Staring at the back of the bird's neck, she jumped when it turned around and tried to peck her nose.

"It's you, you saved me," she smiled. "Thank you."

"Are you ok?" Link asked as he hovered next to her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she nodded shakily.

He smiled then turned to glare at the dragon. Directing Eckle towards it, he prepared himself.

"Link?" Saria called after him, she didn't like where this was going.

"You'll pay for this!" he shouted angrily. "You'll pay for hurting Saria!" A surge of energy boiled up within him, he'd felt like this before, when someone close to him was hurt, but this was stronger than previous times. Taking out his bow once more, he placed another arrow in it. Instantly, the tip of the arrow burst into a brilliant yellow light.

The dragon flailed in pain as the light arrow shot like a needle into its icy armour.

"He summoned magic? An arrow of light of all things too," Nori commented on Link's actions.

Urging Eckle towards the dragon, Link reached for his hookshot while it was stunned. Latching it onto the top of the beast, he launched himself onto its back. Running along the icy scales, Link thrust his hands out in front of him. Using the burning energy that was still flaring inside him, he was able to bring out the swords. Slashing determinedly at any point of the dragon's back he could reach, he groaned when he realised it wasn't effecting the thing at all.

"Damn it!" he continued to hack away, something had to crack sooner or later.

"Link!" Saria yelled at him again.

"Stay away! Everything's under contr-" Link didn't get a chance to finish. The dragon jolted forward causing the boy to slide straight down its neck and onto its head. Skidding to the edge of the head, Link tried to clamber back up but ended up slipping directly into the base of dragon's open mouth. Without a second thought, he stabbed one sword into the roof of the mouth while digging the other into its tongue, if his energy held out, he hoped he'd be able to keep the dragon's mouth open.

"Idiot," Nori shook his head as he watched the dragon throwing its head about trying to fling Link out. "I wouldn't do that, any spell cast on that thing could end up making the situation worse for Link," he looked at Saria who had her staff ready.

Putting the staff down, she sighed. She knew her fairy was right but she felt so useless!

In an attempt to lose Link, the dragon flew up higher then flew in a full circle, twisting its large boy upside-down in the process.

Closing his eyes, Link blocked out the world zooming past him, the only thing on his mind was keeping the mouth wedged open.

"Did you see that?" Saria turned to Nori, "there's a glowing red spot on the dragon's stomach."

Twirling around in the air again, there was that glowing mark, it had to be the weak point.

_Link, I think I can see the weak spot. If you can use something to hold its mouth open then drop out, we'll catch you._ Saria mentally explained to him.

_Right, just have to think of something…._ Link ran through a list of all his weapons in his head, something he could use to at least hold the mouth open for a few seconds….

"Ah-ha!" he swiftly pulled out the sword in the dragon's tongue and replaced it with the dagger Zelda gave him. "I said it would come in handy sometime."

Making sure Saria and the new Pepeckeri were in jumping distance, Link shoved the dagger deeper then flung himself off the edge. Landing clumsily behind Saria, he gave a sigh of relief and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Throwing back its head, the dragon screeched in pain before sending a blast like an icy river right at them.

Luckily, the smaller Pepeckeri weaved out of the way with ease. Circling the dragon, it dived and dodged the ongoing attacks of ice.

Raising her staff, Saria shot a beam at the weak area but nothing happened.

"I don't think we'll be able to damage it the normal way," Link stared at the glowing spot, then something hit him. Digging through his inventory, he brought out the mirror shield from Termina.

"That is so ugly!" Madi squeaked looking at the design of the shield, a gold rim with a picture of a gibdo screaming in the centre.

"Yeah," Link nodded in agreement. "But it's the only one I have so I'm not complaining."

"What's the plan?" Saria looked over her shoulder at the glistening weapon.

"Going to try to use its own attack against it," Link grinned. He wasn't sure if this mirror shield worked the same as his old one, but it was worth a shot.

Swerving near another attack, Link held the shield to the side to absorb the energy. Surprisingly, it worked! The weapon started to glow a dull grey, a few more shots and it would be ready. As the Pepeckeri glided near a few more attacks, he managed to collect the energy needed.

The shield was glowing a light blue, the speed increasing every time more energy was added.

"Ok, let's see if this works," Link aimed the shield at the dragon's underbelly. Unleashing the power, it shot directly at the weak area hitting it dead on.

The dragon fell harshly back through the sky, letting out a final wail of anger, it burst into a sea of sparkling ice shards.

"What was that!?" Travis looked at them in amazement as the Pepeckeri landed on the ground of Pelotrona. He hadn't seen everything that had gone on since the clouds had been blocking his view, but the noises had been enough to peek his interest.

"An inconvenience," Link mumbled sliding from the bird.

Slipping off after Link, Saria pulled him into a hug.

"What's this for?" he smiled returning her affection.

"Do I need a reason to hug my own boyfriend?" Saria replied. She didn't want to admit how worried she'd been, she knew he had needed to do what he did.

"Nope," Link shook his head. "You know, it was you who gave me that energy rush. I thought I'd lose you back there," he continued to hold her close, no more words were spoken between the two.

Strolling over to the new Pepeckeri, Travis grinned.

"So you finally got your butt back here, eh Perri? About time, stupid bird."

"He's not stupid, he saved my life," Saria came to Perri's defence.

"He did?" Travis raised a brow. "I guess he has some uses after all. Oh well, ya look like you could use some rest, follow me and I'll show you round."

Nodding, they followed Travis into the town, both hoping no more unexpected surprises would be waiting for them within.


	15. Stargazing

A/N: I'd like to welcome my good friend Goron Girl Cal to the site (yes, we have matching names, we're sad XD or just crazy…). She's a huge Goron fan so drop by her profile and read her stuff sometime, when she gets round to putting it up.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who's reading, especially those who review. I love getting feedback (who doesn't?) even if it's just to say you're still reading.

* * *

There was a faint clattering sound behind them as they followed Travis into the town. Turning to see what it was, Link spotted his dagger laying covered in something on the ground. Picking the weapon up, he saw the 'things' were tealeaves. 

"Odd…" he mumbled to himself. "Something strange is going on."

"What's that you're mumbling about?" Saria stopped to wait for him.

"Nothing," Link caught back up to her. Placing an arm around her shoulders, he mentally shrugged it off, had to be a coincidence.

"If you're sure," Saria narrowed her eyes, she knew he wasn't telling her something but didn't want to push it, she was just happy to be alive.

Catching up with Travis, they arrived at what must've been his house. An old farmhouse surrounded by a large field with a wooden trailer sitting lopsidedly next to the house. Saria imagined it would have looked a lot better in the good weather, if the grey stone walls were cleaned, the grass was cut and the trailer was fixed and moved out of the way of one of the windows.

Moving towards the front door, they jumped back when a loose tile from the roof came crashing down.

"Mind the tiles," Travis warned lazily. "We really need to sort that roof out."

As the door was opened, an awful smell wafted out into their noses. Both Nori and Madi made excuses that they wanted to go explore elsewhere; fluttering off before anyone could say anything, they escaped.

"I can't believe they did that," Saria frowned. She was strongly resisting the urge to hold her nose and run after them.

"Go on in," Travis held a hand in the direction of the dark entrance. "Feril and Eckle are inside, Feril landed awkwardly on one leg earlier but he'll be ok."

Inside was pitch black, even the windows that weren't blocked by some large object didn't let in much light. The foul smell continued to torture their lungs, how could anyone live in this? The floor was covered in rubbish, empty cans, food packets, sharp tools, everything seemed to be on the floor instead of in its proper place.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, Link wandered into the next room where the Pepeckeri were lounging on the dusty floor.

"It's…nice," Saria said aloud nearly tripping over what felt like an axe-type object.

_Liar,_ Link grinned.

_I dare you to say the truth then,_ Saria returned the grin.

"My folks are down in Soli at the moment, they've gone to put in our petition to get solar power up here. We're stuck like this without it," Travis stumbled after them into what he called the living room.

"Some candles would solve that and a bit of tidying," Saria nodded to herself. "We could help you clean!"

"It could use it," Link agreed as he eyed what he swore was something moving on one of the corners. He wasn't one to tidy much but even he had his limits and this was far over them.

"Eh, if you really wanna," Travis didn't seem too enthusiastic. "People have stopped comin' round recently, I guess it could use a clean. I'll go start on the trailer."

Elsewhere in the town, the fairies were enjoying their lucky escape by exploring the area.

"Where do you think a pendant could be?" Madi asked.

"I have no idea," Nori replied. Glancing around the houses, he couldn't see anything or anyone out of the ordinary, it all looked so normal. Apart from the obvious fact that the whole place was in the sky.

"Are those shiny lights from the shrine Mommy?" a child's voice asked as he and his mother passed the fairies.

"Shrine?" Nori wondered where this 'shrine' could be.

"Nori, look over here!" Madi squeaked excitedly.

Following the younger fairy down the street, Nori was led to a strange stone building. It appeared to be a cube-shaped stone block, only about half the height of Link and as wide as Travis' trailer. A picture of a feather was faintly engraved on the front along with strange letters.

"Interesting…" Nori didn't get time to inspect the stone anymore when a large net came swooping down over the both of them.

Back in the house, Saria was busily poking through pieces of rubbish with a long deku stick. Noticing something sparkling amongst the dirt, she reached down and picked up what was actually a golden key.

"Do you need a hand?" Link asked Travis as he watched the boy putting a new wheel on the trailer.

"Nah that's ok. I know I only gots one arm but I learnt to adjust long ago," he grinned. Taking the new wheel from the ground, he continued to twist it into place.

"Looks like you can fix things better than me and I have two hands," Link mumbled, he'd never been good at making things in the forest like the rest of the Kokiri. Tables, chairs, even a bed had broken after he'd attempted to make them, it was just another thing Mido loved to pick on him for.

"I wouldn't say that, you made me a great sled back home," Saria appeared in the doorway holding the key.

"Yeah, a sled that ended up breaking," he went over to her to see what she'd found. "Hey, you found-"

"My key!" Travis jumped up and snatched it from Saria. "I've been lookin' for this everywhere! I was out flyin' with Feril one day and I found this shiny key floating in the air! It's pretty neat huh?" he stared lovingly at the key like it was the reason for his existence.

"Sure, but why do you want it?" Saria had no idea why he'd want a random key, a key that wasn't even his to keep.

"This 'ere key is the only gold thing I've ever owned," Travis simply replied, pocketing the key, he got back to work on the trailer. Getting that key wasn't going to be an easy task.

* * *

"GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN!!" the mighty voice of the Goron leader, Darunia roared over the land of Hyrule. The Gorons were generally a friendly race but when they were angered, especially Darunia, the whole kingdom knew about it. 

A large army of Meldoran soldiers were scaling the rocky Death Mountain, however, none of them had been ready for the Gorons. They may not have been the smartest race in Hyrule but they certainly made up for it in brute strength.

Hundreds of Gorons rolled out of their city, picking up speed every second before smashing through the army as if rolling through paper dolls.

Seeing their attacks weren't doing much, Darunia retreated into his throne room.

"Big Brother?" a young Goron popped their head around the door.

"What is it!?" Darunia snapped.

"Um, the army is getting closer to the city," the Goron backed out of the door hoping not to get in the way of another of Darunia's tempers.

"I'll deal with this," Darunia slid behind the statue that hid the entrance to the crater.

Standing over the bubbling lava, he summoned the spirits of fire to aid him. The symbol of fire appeared over the summit of Death Mountain, calling for its assistance, Darunia leapt into the boiling lava.

Outside, the Gorons managed to take out as many soldiers as they could. Resorting to their special crop, they sent rumbling explosions across the mountainside scaring half the army away.

Suddenly, the mountain began to shake violently, men fell off their feet as the shaking got increasingly worse. The ring around the summit lit up brightly followed by a blast of fire blazing out of the volcano. A burning ball of pure fire rocketed out of the top, spinning in the air for a moment, it let off an array of red, yellow and orange sparks before slamming down onto the ground.

Speeding along the dusty path, it emitted a heat only known in the deepest of lava, scorching anything that couldn't handle the heat as it passed.

Dodging the burning bullet, the soldiers smirked to themselves, there was no chance that thing would be able to turn around, at least, that's what they assumed.

Reaching the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern, the fireball span around and chased them once more. The ones who didn't get burned alive, leapt to their doom off the cliff edges.

Coming to a halt back at the city, the ball finally cooled down to reveal Darunia. Shaking his head at the mess, he retired to his room to prepare for anymore attacks.

* * *

Malon sat huddled in one of the bedrooms at the ranch along with her dad and Ingo who stood waiting by the bedroom door with pitchforks in hand. 

Shouts and rattling armour noises had been passing the ranch for awhile now but still no one had attacked. Maybe the army thought a ranch in the middle of the field wasn't worth bothering with? That was, until they heard a gang bashing the front door down.

"Capture any Hyruleans alive and destroy the animals!" one soldier ordered his followers.

"The animals!" Malon shoved her dad and Ingo out of the way. Opening the door, she was immediately grabbed by one man who dragged her down the stairs to be tied up.

"Oh no you don't!" another male voice entered the room. Kicking the man harshly in the back, the figure sped around him to free Malon.

Looking up, Malon saw a blonde Sheikah boy standing untying her, his mysterious red eyes and rugged hairstyle were quite attractive to the ranch girl.

"Quickly, get out of here!" Sheik pushed a startled Malon out of the house.

Listening to the boy's words, Malon left the house only to find soldiers destroying their barn. The only thing for her to use were a few empty pots.

Ducking a swipe from the solider in the house, Sheik rolled to the side, jumped up and tossed two stars which pinned the man neatly to the wall. Back-flipping over another soldier, Sheik span around sending a dagger into his side before jump-kicking the one still stuck to the wall.

Dashing outside, he gasped at the disgusting actions of the Meldora army. Turning to Malon, Sheik couldn't take it anymore, seeing a friend nearly in tears hurt more than this whole war put together.

"Stand back, I'll finish this," Sheik told Malon who nodded as she watched the boy hold his right hand out in front of himself.

"Goddess Nayru come to my aid," he began chanting a quiet spell. The Triforce of Wisdom startled to glow a blinding white as the Sheikah concentrated. A moment later and the barn with all the animals inside flew into the sky, a yellow light shot from the Triforce symbol on Sheik's right hand.

Malon just stared in awe at the amazing scene before her, she'd never witnessed such magic in all her life.

"Time's Final Hour!" the light engulfed the frightened soldiers, in the blink of an eye their bodies began to shrivel and twist into old men, the final hour of their lives.

The barn landed in exactly the same spot, none of the animals were injured.

"Wow, you're brilliant!" Malon ran up to the tired boy, arriving at his side, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

_Oh dear, she doesn't know it's me,_ Zelda thought to herself. "Eheh, no problem," she grinned then made to leave, very swiftly.

"Wait!…..Will I see you again?" Malon shouted after the stranger but got no answer, he had already vanished.

* * *

The cool night air was so refreshing, along with the clear star filled sky, Pelotrona was a tranquil place at night. 

Saria sat on the fence surrounding the field outside Travis' house, after many hours of cleaning, they had finally made the place look half decent. Staring towards the stars, she tried to name all of the Kokiri constellations the Great Deku Tree had taught them awhile ago. There was Neirol the first great Kokiri leader, then there was Reidol, Neirol's younger brother who had taken his place as leader when he'd tragically passed away. And finally, the third one was…..she could never remember this…

"What are you looking at?" Link came up behind her, leaning on the fence, he joined the stargazing.

"Trying to name the constellation over there," she pointed to the cluster of stars she was talking about. "Although, I'm guessing other races have their own names for them."

"I wouldn't know, I've always used the Kokiri ones, they're the ones I grew up with.. That's Aeffia, the first Forest Sage, I'm surprised you of all people didn't know that," Link laughed then thought it over. "Oh, I remember why, you fell asleep during the Deku Tree's story!"

Saria blushed furiously, she did remember now. She'd been up the night before making sure Link was alright after he and Mido had thought it would be clever to have a berry eating contest. Neither boy had bothered to check if the berries were rotten or not, resulting in them both getting an awful stomach bug. The evening after, the Deku Tree had gathered them all to teach them about the constellations since it had been an unusually clear sky that day, but Saria had been so tired, she'd managed to hear a few names then fell asleep on Link's shoulder. Fortunately, the Deku Tree had been very understanding. But still, how embarrassing!

"There's a story?" she asked curiously, she'd forgotten to ask about it after she'd woken up.

"Sort of," Link recalled the story. "Neirol was the Kokiri leader of the first generation, he was brave, kind, strong, everything you'd expect in a true leader really. Neirol had a younger brother, Reidol. Reidol had always been jealous of his brother, how he was adored and admired by the rest of the village. This resentment resulted in both their ends. Then there was Aeffia, like Neirol, she was loved by most of the village, until she mysteriously disappeared."

"So that's why there are no records of her in the Forest Temple, she never finished her Sage duties," Saria commented before he could continue.

"Right," he nodded. "She and Neirol were good friends, actually, you could say they were more than that. The Deku Tree never encouraged Kokiri to develop feelings like those but there was the rare occasion when some did mature more than they should have and he wouldn't stop them. The only problem was, Aeffia didn't feel it was right even if she did want it. She told him her heart belonged to the forest and they could never be, then a few days later she vanished."

The starry scene came to life in Saria's eyes as Link told it. Aeffia's figure faded while Neirol's appeared to fall to the ground, she knew what it was like to be separated from someone you love.

"Seizing the opportunity now that Neirol was so upset, Reidol plotted to get rid of his brother so he could take over the village. Venturing deep into the Lost Woods, he picked some poisonous fruit, the Deku Tree had warned them all to never eat that type since even one bite could end your life without the proper cure to hand. Ignoring the warnings, Reidol picked the fruit and planned to slip it into Neirol's next meal, which he did with ease due to his brother's depressed state. The next day, Neirol sadly passed away leaving Reidol in charge of the village just as he wanted. However, as the years went by, his guilt slowly ate away at him until eventually, it killed him."

"That's so sad," Saria's mind was already working on an answer for where Aeffia disappeared to, so far she had nothing. "She must have travelled so deep into the woods that the Deku Tree lost a connection with her."

"The Deku Tree said there is one thing that remains from Neirol and Aeffia….but he didn't say what," Link didn't have a clue what it could be.

"Maybe it's the Kokiri Sword, they could have made it together," Saria shrugged, until they got back to the forest there wasn't much point thinking about it. "Have you seen the fairies? They've been gone for hours."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't," he moved behind her putting his arms around her waist. "You have to admit it's nice not having 'Link you hurt Saria and I'll eat your head.' or 'Butterfly! Butterfly!' being yelled every second.

"Nori isn't that bad," Saria laughed. "But butterfly? Who was Madi yelling at?"

"Um, you," Link blushed. "After being called No Fairy, Hood boy, Grasshopper and a variety of other names I thought it was about time you had one." Not waiting for a response, he began to gently pull her off the fence ending with them both tumbling backwards onto the grass.

"Were you trying to achieve something by doing that?" Saria turned herself around so she was sat on his stomach. She had to smile at his expression, his eyes were half open with a goofy grin on his face.

"I don't know but I like the result," he let his hands rest on her sides. Saria had definitely changed in appearance over the past week, the main change was how her body looked more like a woman's and less like a girl's. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed, especially right now….

"Looking at something?" she smirked as his eyes moved back to her face.

"Uh no, I mean yes, no!" Link became flustered, he felt ashamed for doing that, even though he knew she didn't mind as long as he didn't sit there drooling mindlessly for hours.

Leaning forward, Saria gently kissed him then slid down beside him. Resting her head on his chest, she was surprised to find it smelt like the forest, a mixture of trees, deku, pine, oak, they were all there.

"You smell good," closing her eyes she imagined they were in the sacred meadow then remembered the last time they'd been there, they'd talked, she'd cried, it felt like a lifetime ago. She did look forward to going home though, back to their meadow as they still called it, a place where they could be alone.

"I must be the best smelling pillow you've ever had," Link brought his arms around her thinking how they'd never really laid like this before. Sure, they'd fallen asleep against each other many times, but this felt different, it was nice being so close.

"Definitely," she replied sleepily. She knew they should have gone into the house, but she felt so warm and safe and it didn't look like Link wanted to move either.

Letting sleep make the decision for them, they both drifted off beneath the stars.

* * *

Opening his eyes, all Taj could see was darkness. It felt like he was in some sort of cupboard but he couldn't be sure, all he could feel were ropes tied around his wrists and ankles. 

"Hello?" he summoned his courage and called out to whoever did this to him.

"Ah, you're awake," the owner swung open the door to his broom cupboard. Kneeling down, he dragged a startled Taj out into the living room.

"Why are you doing this?" Taj growled, this guy was just plain weird.

"I used to see you coming around this city with them, years ago, looks like you haven't changed," the owner strolled around the room. "Still causing trouble for Hylians, right?"

"It's none of your business," Taj struggled in his ropes but they wouldn't loosen.

"Sheikahs are meant to protect the Hylians, are they not?" the man sat in one of his chairs.

"You don't know the full story, if you did, you wouldn't be holding me here."

"Oh really?" he decided to give this kid a chance to explain himself. "Then you must tell me, I've got plenty of time."

* * *

"Where could they be?" Saria was getting anxious, it wasn't like Nori to disappear on her for very long. 

"They couldn't have gone far," Link tried to assure her. He remembered how upset he'd been the day Navi had left him after he'd saved Hyrule and they had only been together a short while, Saria and Nori had been together years so being separated must've been twice as hard.

The streets of Pelotrona were peaceful in the morning, a few people wandered about as the Pepeckeri woke up for another day of flying. Coming to another street, they paused when they heard faint voices screaming.

"Saria!" a voice yelled from within one of the buildings "Over here!"

Running towards the voice, they gasped when they saw Nori and Madi in bottles through a shop window.

"How'd you get in there?" Link whispered into the glass.

"The owner caught us to sell!" Madi screeched pointing to the sign on her bottle.

"Five hundred ebelons!?" Link gawked, neither him or Saria had that much.

"We can't afford that…." Saria peered into the shop to find no one was in and the door was locked. There was a counter in the front with various items on shelves behind it. Looking over to the opposite wall, she saw another window that had been left slightly open. "I think I can get in there," she moved around to the back of the building. Flipping the window up, she climbed in.

Just as she was about to grab the bottles, voices could be heard in the back room. Leaving the bottles on the windowsill, she quickly found a hiding place in a cupboard under the counter.

"So you think those sparkly things are from the shrine?" one voice asked.

"Could be," another replied "Although, I doubt it, nothing ever comes out or goes in that shrine. It's time to open up anyway, I'll meet you in the shop in a few minutes."

A young dark-haired man entered the shop room, wiping down the counter he prepared to open. Link winced when he went to reach into the cupboard Saria was in. Acting on impulse, the boy knocked the shop door loudly. Luckily, the man stopped what he was doing and went to open the door.

"Would you like to buy something?" he asked a sweating Link.

"Yeah, do you have any…." he tried to think of something he knew they wouldn't have. "Tektite hats? They're a new fashion down in the city, if you don't stock them then you're not much of a shop."

"I'll go check in the stockroom," the man shook his head at Link before heading to look for the hats.

Swiftly opening the cupboard door, he helped Saria out who grabbed the bottles and left through the door.

"Sorry Sir, we don't have any of those hats," the man returned to the main room.

"Oh, that's alright," Link stared dumbly in front of him for a second before leaving.

"Thieves!" Madi teased as she twirled happily about in the air over Link's head.

"Would you rather we left you there?" Link crossed his arms.

"That shrine they were talking about sounds interesting," Nori landed on Saria's shoulder. "I wonder if a pendant is being kept there?"

"May as well take a look, not like we'll be getting that key anytime soon," Saria mumbled.

Letting the fairies lead them to the strange stone structure, Link examined every angle of it. The only thing that made sense was the feather carved on the front, it had to be something to do with the Pepeckeri.

"This scripture must be Meldoran or some sort of Pelotrona language," Saria ran a hand along the carvings of the letters, each appeared to point towards the feather as if telling them something.

"I say blow it up!" Madi set herself on top of the cube clapping her hands insanely.

"I say-" Link was cut off by Perri trotting over to them, pecking at the boy, he stole his hat and began chewing on it. "Hey!" Link grumbled snatching the hat back from the bird. Ducking another peck, he stepped out of the way as Perri flapped his wings wildly, multicoloured feathers flew everywhere.

Picking up the nearest feather to her, Saria looked back at the carving then at the feather. Placing it in the carving, they all moved back when the stone began to glow a deep red.

"It's going to explode!" Madi squeaked while hiding under Link's hat.

The cube span around a few times before coming to a stop. The picture of the feather disappeared revealing an arched doorway big enough for most people to crawl through.

"What the?" Link knelt down to get a better look, nothing but darkness could be seen from the outside.

"Looks like that's the way in," Nori stated the obvious, he'd never seen something like this himself but he was sure there was more to the structure inside.

"What if we go in and it closes?" Saria wanted to look as much as the others but they didn't even know anything about this thing.

"We don't have any other choice, the map says it's here," Link pointed out. Taking a breath, he braced himself and crawled inside, there was a small flash before his body totally vanished.

Taking a final look behind her, Saria followed Link into the unknown void of darkness.


	16. Electric Reflections

He felt sick to his stomach as the world span in front of his eyes, there was another flash of red and finally Link landed in a heap at the entrance of a tall building. There was darkness everywhere he looked, the only thing visible was the building, an old castle covered completely in shining silver stones. Running a hand along the wall, he discovered how smooth they were but who was keeping them so clean? Unless this whole place was magical…

The deafening silence was broken by a series of screams as Saria and the fairies tumbled down after him. Standing up from the floor of utter darkness, Saria glanced around to see... utter darkness, apart from the castle.

Hovering over to the large wooden arched door, Nori examined the markings on it.

"This writing is Kokiri and Hylian," Link could make out letters in both languages he'd learned over the years.

"Mainly in Kokiri to me," Saria tried to read the twisting letters.

"What are you talking about? The letters are written in the fairy language for me," Madi fluttered in front of the door while Nori nodded in agreement.

Each saw a different language in front of them but no matter how it was written, the same words could be seen.

Shrine of Imitia.

"How strange," Nori was fascinated at the mysterious letters. "This must be the shrine those people in the shop were talking about."

"Hmm. No point waiting out here," Link pushed open the door causing it the creek loudly as if it hadn't been opened for centuries.

Inside, the group couldn't help gasping in awe at the stunning entrance hall. Sparkling mirrors lined the walls, the floor, and just about everything in the entire room. Light bounced off the glassy surfaces of the shining walls soaking the room in a dim white hue. A staircase was set in the centre of the room, again made completely from mirrors making the room appear much larger than it actually was.

Saria felt dizzy as she stared at the mirror-covered ceiling of the room. Taking a look in the mirrors on one wall, she couldn't believe the reflection looking back at her was herself. This was the first time she'd gotten the chance to see a clear reflection, she really had changed in appearance and in such a short space of time. Feeling the cold of the room, she took out her jacket to wrap around herself.

Link slowly made his way across the room, treading carefully on each tile in case any hidden traps were concealed within the floor. Arriving at the base of the stairs, he tried not to get confused by all the reflections of himself in every direction he turned. Looking to the top, he saw another door covered in strange symbols carved neatly into polished glass.

Waiting for Saria to catch up, they climbed the stairs. Reaching the door, Link placed a hand on the glass that felt like the coldest ice beneath his skin.

"Open it!" Madi urged them on, she was excited to see what was further into this place.

Peering into the next room, all they could see were luminous white mirrors covering the whole area. Apart from them, there was nothing else in the room.

Stepping inside, Link got a shock when the room swirled into his old tree house home. Everything was as he'd left it, the tiny bed, the various tools he liked to experiment with, even some fruit he'd forgotten to eat. He was standing in his house, or was it just an illusion?

Walking in after Link, Saria saw the same white room until it morphed into a clear blue sky. Not a single cloud was in the sky, a few birds chirped in the distance as a light wind rustled through her hair. Looking down, she noticed she was standing on something made of stone, a familiar sort of stone…

"Whoa!" she looked over the edge of the stone to see the sacred meadow down below. She was on top of the Forest Temple.

"I know! I didn't expect this to show my house either," Link exclaimed assuming that she was seeing the same thing.

"Huh? Your house? I see the view from the top of the Forest Temple," Saria rubbed her eyes, why were they seeing different things?

Nori didn't know what those two were talking about, to him the room showed a vision of the Kokiri Village. Children ran about happily enjoying their day while fireflies and sprites danced serenely through the magic-filled air. He missed the village so much…

"I don't see anything," Madi huffed, the room was staying a pure white in her eyes.

Suddenly, low whispers filled the room, Madi squeaked when a gathering of odd figures warped in front of them. The figures took on a human-like shape but were very tall and skinny, with scrawny long arms and short legs, their bodies were covered in a shiny reflective skin just like a mirror. Not waiting any longer, they attacked but somehow only Madi could see them.

"Ouch, what the?" Link yelped as one whacked him with its long flailing arm.

"Duck!" Madi screeched when she saw another about to slam its hand down on his head.

Deciding it was best not to argue, Link rolled out of the way avoiding the attack. Jumping to his feet, he growled, he hated when he couldn't see the enemy. Receiving another violent smack, he tumbled backwards over the stump in the middle of his house.

"Saria, look out!" Madi yelled again.

The Kokiri was caught off guard when a figure tripped her up right at the edge of the temple roof. Losing her footing, the girl managed to grab onto the ledge, another hit like that and she'd be falling though.

Dashing to her friend's aid, Madi rammed into the nearest figure who had been about to stamp on Saria's hands.

Recovering from his trip, Link blinked when he saw half of Saria clinging onto his floor, while the other half of her body had disappeared through the wood. Reaching a hand down, he pulled her up beside him as yet another figure attacked them.

"What do these things look like?" he asked a flustered Madi.

"Well, they're all shiny like the mirrors and a weird shape," she tried to describe them the best she could.

"Shiny? I wonder…" Link took out the mirror shield, aiming it at thin air, his idea worked when a flicker of light flashed where the shield was pointing.

Using her staff, Saria shot at the shining spot and in a puff of smoke, it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

Spinning around, Link aimed the shield at a whole group of them for Saria to get rid of.

"Weren't very strong, were they?" Nori said as the worlds they had been seeing dissolved leaving the white room once more.

Another door suddenly appeared in the room, unlike the last one, this door was a darker colour. The same symbols were carved on the dark glass, however, at closer inspection they could see that these symbols were mirrored.

"This door looks creepy," Madi whispered nervously.

"It's the only way forward," Link moved in front of them, pushing on the door, it opened silently.

The room within was pitch black, cautiously entering, Link prepared for whatever tricks the shrine had to throw at them.

Instantly, the room span into another illusion, one Link hadn't wanted to see ever again. Patches of blood dripped down the decaying walls, bones lay scattered across the floor, chains rattled in dark corners. The torture chamber that was the Shadow Temple would always be his worst memory, even more so than the haunting creatures of Ikana Canyon.

Stepping in after Link, Saria was surrounded by a vision on the bridge in the Lost Woods. Holding onto one of the ropes suspending it, she glanced out into the dense forest. The bridge held a lot of memories for her, the most memorable being the time Link had left the forest for the first time, she really had though she'd never see him again after that. It always seemed to silent there, as if time itself stopped whenever she stood staring into the darkness of the outside world, the silence made her feel uneasy. That bridge symbolised one thing to her, leaving. Taking out her ocarina, she began to play her song letting the notes of the forest take over her mind.

Hearing the music, Link didn't feel as anxious; taking out his own ocarina, he joined the song.

The darkness of the room gradually faded until the walls turned a similar white to the previous room. The new light revealed a spiralling staircase in the centre of the room, the steps were covered in shimmering mirrors just like the other set of the stairs in the main hall.

"Oh my," Saria gasped as she looked down at the floor.

"What is it?" Link followed her gaze to a sight he wished he hadn't seen. The floor was covered in a sheet of glass, under the glass were hundreds of terrified people; their bodies frozen from fear, their faces twisted into expressions of terror.

"I doubt they're alive," Nori fluttered into the room with Madi. "They look like they were paralysed by this room."

"So that's why you stayed out," Saria crossed her arms. "You were avoiding being scared."

"Hey, we knew you guys could handle a stupid room and it's not like I would've seen anything!" Madi grumbled. Ignoring the mass of terrifying faces, she flew back under Link's hat.

"Yeah, we handled it," Link sighed, if Saria hadn't have been there would he still be here? He knew he'd gotten through the real Shadow Temple once before but Navi had helped him deal with the evil in the darkness. Along with Saria, that fairy had been the most important thing in his life, now she was gone.

"Something wrong?" Saria noticed his solemn expression.

"No, I'm ok," he replied then took out one of the pendants with the key. "Do you think if we opened one they'd really help us?"

"I don't know, I think we should leave it until we get home," Saria didn't want to risk any trouble right then.

"Hmm," Link nodded and put the pendant away.

"She just wants you all to herself," Madi giggled mischievously.

"If that was true you two wouldn't be here," she winked referring to the fairies. "Now, let's take a look at these stairs."

* * *

Warping back to the market, Sheik was relieved to see that Rauru had summoned the Light symbol from within the Temple of Time. A spark of golden magic shot out of the symbol creating a line of crackling energy which stretched in the direction of the other symbols, soon they would all be connects; all but one.

"Without the forest energy, the Sages' powers can't fully combine. I hope they come back soon," Sheik sighed, she wondered how long they could defend themselves until the spell was needed…

"There you are," Impa's voice said behind her. Appearing from the shadows, the Sheikah walked up to the princess.

"Oh, hello Impa. How're things at Kakariko?" Sheik asked her attendant and mentor.

"As good as could be expected, I scared most of the armies away but more may come later. Are you sure we need to use something this drastic?" the Shadow Sage looked towards the crackling energy flowing from the Light symbol.

"We have no other choice, if Meldora wants a war then it's a war they shall get!" as she said this a group of soldiers surrounded the pair. Standing back-to-back, they didn't have many choices.

"Grab onto me," Impa whispered to Sheik who did as she was told.

Instantly, the ground absorbed both women leaving only a shadow in sight. Knowing they could still be seen, Impa summoned a series of similar shadows that covered the entire market area.

"Great idea to confuse them Impa, but it won't stop them trashing the market," Sheik telepathically messaged Impa.

"I forgot I never showed you this spell," Impa smirked to herself within the shadows. "Just watch and learn."

The soldiers who attempted to touch the shadows were swiftly sucked into the ground before they had a chance to escape. Surprised shouts rang across the market as each man got pulled into the darkness of the shadow realm.

"Where are they being taken?" Sheik asked with a hint of fascination in her voice.

"To the underworld," Impa casually replied. "It's a place that can cause fear in the bravest of hearts."

Reappearing by the fountain, Impa crossed her arms in annoyance, the market was such a mess. Fires blazed in most of the local shops not waiting for the owners to evacuate with what little belongings they could carry.

"What a day," the voice of the Happymask salesman said as he exited his shop, hundreds of masks strapped to his backpack.

"Isn't it?" Sheik muttered. She hoped Impa would teach her that spell sometime soon, she was sure Link would enjoy seeing it being used on the unsuspecting guards at the castle….until she remembered he probably wouldn't want to spend as much time with her anymore, now that he had Saria. She had been a little rude to the Forest Sage when they'd first met, something she really did regret. Saria was a nice girl, someone she knew she could be friends with if she tried.

_Hurry up and get home you two, before they get to the forest…._

_

* * *

_

Nearing the top of the winding stairs, Saria glanced cautiously over the edge only to have her heart leap into her throat. They were so high above the ground! The twisted faces appeared as only tiny dots in their view, one wrong step up here and it would be your last.

"This place makes me feel sick," Madi complained at all the mirrors lining the never-ending walls which spiralled upwards along with the stairs.

Soon, the stairs came to a stop outside a large silver, oval-shaped door but this was no ordinary door. At closer inspection, Link was surprised to find the door itself wasn't solid, it was a shining opaque liquid. Blowing lightly on its surface, he watched the liquid ripple gently. Gathering his courage, he slipped an arm through the liquid to find it went straight through without any problems, there had to be a room on the other side of the door.

"We should prepare before going through, could be something dangerous on the other side," Link turned to Saria holding out his gauntlets.

"Oh, right," she took out her staff and gave him a top up of magic, the gauntlets flashed a brilliant emerald before returning to their normal metallic colour.

Easily passing the liquid door, they were amazed at the sight in the next room. Mirrors once again lined the floors and walls but this room was so much more lavishly decorated than the rest of the shrine. The upper walls were covered in multicoloured mirrors, red, green, yellow, more colours than either Link or Saria had ever seen shone down reflecting on the glass below drowning the room in a sea of lights. Illegible words were written on the lower panels of the wall, squiggly lines and curled shapes that made no sense to Saria as she squinted at the nearest word. In the centre was a round platform with a small podium in the middle.

Deciding to take a closer look, Saria stepped onto the platform while Link explored the rest of the area. Leaning over the podium, she could see the odd writing scrolled neatly over a mirrored surface, not being able to read the words was driving her insane. Reaching a hand nearer to the writing, she softly ran a finger over the lines and circles.

Big mistake.

The room started to shake violently and within seconds, long, thin shining tentacles ripped out of the platform, they, like the room were able to reflect images off their smooth, mirror-like skin. Wrapping themselves tightly around a startled Saria, they shot up high above the ground carrying the Forest Sage with them. As if that wasn't enough, a blue electrical current began surging its way along the tentacles directly into Saria's body.

"Saria!" Link yelled from down below as she let out a pained scream. Gritting his teeth in anger, he looked frantically around for anything that could help.

Suddenly, a tiny black figure materialised on the platform. It was a fuzzy little thing without a body, just a dark, furry head with gleaming white eyes. Bouncing around on the platform, it looked up at Saria then over to Link who rushed at it.

"Hey you!" Link shouted furiously. "Let Saria go!"

"Foz?" the head stared at him stupidly.

"Huh? Listen, just call off your strings!"

"Foz foz foz!" it continued to repeat itself ignoring an annoyed Link.

"I know you can hear me!" he growled and dashed at the head but it warped out of the way at the last second. Whatever this thing was, it obviously didn't want to be of any assistance.

"Only one who can defeat me will have his desires granted," a deep voice boomed behind Link.

Turning slowly around he was shocked to see a large knight, similar to an iron knuckle but a few inches taller. Thick, black armour covered its entire body along with a mirrored panel here and there in various places. A strong, silver helm with the strange writing on protected its head and face, white gleaming eyes peeking through the holes. The weird thing that Link noticed was, in one gloved hand the knight carried an impressive looking shield - it was bigger than any shield the boy had seen before - huge and round, the surface reminded him of a mirror shield but unlike the usual plain mirrors with a simple pattern, this one had a golden sun design on the front. The rim was also a golden colour with sharp, sparking diamonds sticking out all the way around. It truly was a magnificent shield. However, in its other hand, the warrior held nothing. Link imagined a sword should've gone there, he wondered where it could be…

"We don't have time for this," he snarled. "Let Saria go first if you want a fight." Looking above him, he saw that Saria had surrounded herself in a haze of protective magic to ease the jolting pain.

"She's stronger than she looks," Nori said meekly, he hated not being able to help her but knew she could hold on for a while longer.

"You're right," Link nodded. "Fine. Hold on Saria, I'll deal with this guy." Bringing out the Ebelon blades, he waited for the knight to get ready.

Holding out the empty hand, the warrior conjured a giant double-headed axe, giving it a wide swish, the sharp blades sparkled with the movement and without warning, it moved towards Link at an incredible speed. Slashing the axe vertically downwards in one swift motion, it missed Link by a good margin.

Eyeing up his opponent, Link could see that it relied on strength rather than speed, although it didn't exactly lack anything in that department either. Ducking another well-aimed axe swipe, he rolled to the left, leapt up and tried to damage some of the knight's body but the swords didn't connect with the armour, instead they bounced off the shield which had been slid in front of the attacked area just in time. As long as it held that shield, Link couldn't get a hit in. He slashed again and again, faster and faster, both blades danced in a blur in front of the knight who continued to block, there had to be a way to get rid of that shield.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Link glanced above to see the energy growing larger by the minute, what could Saria possibly be doing? Then something made him think, this place had to be magical if that thing could generate a weapon from thin air, it was worth a shot.

Taking out his bow, he placed a single arrow in it and aimed directly for the knight's main body. Immediately, the ancient warrior placed its shield in front of its face thinking that Link was going to try to damage it. Waiting until the last moment, Link aimed the bow over the knight's head, summoned a light arrow and shot it at one of the back mirrors.

Just as he'd expected, the arrow bounced off the mirror and slammed harshly into the back of the knight. The shield flew out of its grasp landing nearby on the polished floor, not wasting his chance, Link tan for the shield. Finding a place without diamonds on the rim, he tried to lift it but it was so heavy, using both hands he managed to barely carry it - a good slam from this thing could give anything a good, solid knock.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from above, the tentacles went into a crazed frenzy as a lot of magical energy burst around them. Loosening their grip on Saria, she tumbled from the ceiling landing right on the stunned knight's head, the tentacles raced after her wanting to retrieve their victim but she jumped just as they were about to gab her, instead, they wrapped themselves accidentally around the knight's armoured body sending surges of strong electric currents through its very being.

Kneeling on the floor, Saria stared at the ground coughing and spluttering from the shock, her whole body was shaking. Realising her hair was sticking up all over the place, she quickly smoothed it down before moving out of the way of the flailing knight. Taking another breath, she smiled weakly when Link came over to her dragging the shield along with him.

Seeing the knight still distracted with the tentacles, he had an idea - if he could just life the shield. Grasping the large round object between his hands, Link gripped the diamond-free edge and attempted to hold it like a Frisbee. Taking a practice swing, he was able to keep it steady long enough to throw, now for the real thing. Pulling back one last time, he gave the shield a might swing letting it leave his grasp, it flew through the air twisting and turning as it built up speed.

_Smack_

The shield impacted with the knight sending it crashing into the nearest wall. Regaining its composure, the thing began to flash a dull white until it had changed back into the strange little head. Bouncing over to the pair, it looked dumbly at them with a vacant, wide-eyed expression.

"Foz?"

"Uh," Link remembered what the voice had said. "Um, we're looking for a pendant, do you know of one?"

The head jumped up and down excitedly, springing over to the platform, it created a bright blue warp portal - something Link had seen many times before. Leaping into the light, the head appeared to beckon to them with its eyes then disappeared.

"Are you ok?" Link turned his attention to Saria who had managed to keep herself standing.

"Yeah, I'll be fine in a bit," she quietly replied still a little shaken from the experience.

Looking at the spot where the knight had transformed back into the head, Link saw the shield lying unclaimed against the wall. Walking towards it, he picked it up with both hands wondering if anyone wanted it… He had to admit, it was a bit heavy for him to carry on his back all day but it may come in useful in the future. Slipping it in a pocket, he waited for Saria by the warp light and they both exited the shrine.

Outside, they arrived back in front of the stone cube where the head was waiting. Looking at the sun, Link noticed it hadn't moved an inch, time must have stayed still within the shrine so it was still early morning in the real world.

A curious Perri trotted up to them sticking a beak in Saria's tired face, he tried to cheer her up by nibbling her nose which didn't work very well.

Spotting the bird, an axe formed in mid air over the head that was staring happily at the unsuspecting Perri. With a swift swipe the axe soared towards the bird in a vertical motion and sliced straight through his right wing. Perri let out of a screech of agony as a stream of pink blood startled to trickle out of his side.

"What did you do that for!" Link shouted clenching his fists in anger. "Perri didn't do anything to you!"

Saria was speechless, her face turned a sickly pale colour, she wanted to scream or cry but nothing came out of her mouth. Shaking her head, she ran to the bird's side.

Before anyone could say anything else, a golden pendant seeped out of the gushing wound, Perri had been carrying a pendant all along but did this mean sacrificing his life to give it up?

"Things have to die sometimes," Nori whispered to Saria who shook her head again, tears slowly building ni her eyes.

"No! I won't let him die! I-I can fix it, I can heal the wound."

"But you're exhausted, you could end up killing yourself," Nori frowned, he had a bad feeling she wasn't going to be stopped. Turning to Link for support, the boy didn't have an answer, he didn't want Saria wearing herself out anymore but he also didn't want Perri to die and by the looks of it, the poor bird wouldn't last much longer.

"I'll get Travis, we can move Perri to the wagon where you can do your thing," Link finally said, he had faith in Saria's powers, he knew she could do it…she had to.


	17. The Healing Race

Running out of the inn, Taj smirked to himself, the owner wouldn't be getting in his way again anytime soon. His life was no one's business and that's how he wanted it to stay, if people wanted to poke their noses in, well, they were asking for trouble. Slinking around a corner, he stopped when he saw a commotion outside the castle, hundreds of guards were gathered in a group by the main gates; something odd was definitely going on. Moving a little closer, he could make out some of what they were saying.

"The king has finally lost it!" one guard exclaimed.

"Yeah, he even threw an antique vase across the room at one of the maids." another chimed in.

"That's nothing! I heard he ordered a second army of Solar Knights to attack Hyrule!"

The Sheikah bit his lip, he wouldn't be able to enter the castle with all those guards surrounding it, he also doubted the king would be so easy to sneak up on this time. It would make more sense to bide his time in the city for a while, he hadn't eaten in days.

* * *

Hovering for a brief moment, the head slowly faded away along with the blood-soaked axe leaving the dramatic scene behind.

Travis stared in shock at the injured Perri, even though the dumb bird annoyed the heck out of him, he would never wish any harm on the poor thing. Standing back, he watched a teary-eyed Saria fussing over the animal. Why she cared so much, he had no idea.

"So you're sayin' you can save him?" he asked her, his voice sounding hopeful.

Saria answered him with a nod of her head. All the Kokiri could perform basic healing techniques taught to them by the Deku Tree and she'd always been better at it than everyone else. The tree had simply said it was because she focused more than the others, but now she knew why. Thinking about it, she realised no one in the village knew she was a Sage, would they even care? It was yet another reason for some of them to be wary of her, none had actually said it to her face, but she had a feeling she'd caused an eruption of whispers about herself throughout the forest more than once. Not that any of that mattered right then, she'd deal with it when the time came.

"She's not supposed to though," Nori began muttering angrily. "But does she listen to me? No, of course not! Why would she, I'm only her guardian. Thinks she always knows best."

"I am here, if you didn't notice," Saria frowned, it annoyed her when people spoke about her like she wasn't there. Although, even she tended to speak about herself in that way sometimes. She remembered when Nori had lashed out in Balbana Valley, his words had stung and here he was again, showing how he cared in his own ill-tempered manner. She'd been tempted to tell him to go home a few times but would probably regret it later on.

"I have faith in you," Link placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just like you've always believed in me." He was worried too, however, he knew what Saria lacked in physical strength she made up for in mental stamina. It wouldn't be right to tell her not to try the healing when he'd only recently been inside a dragon's mouth hundreds of feet in the air.

"Yeah you can do it! And if you don't…well, yeah, you can do it!" Madi tried to be encouraging.

"Thanks Link, you too Madi," Saria's frown changed into a smile as she placed some bandages Travis had brought on Perri's wound to stop the bleeding until he'd been moved somewhere more private.

"Here, let's move him to my trailer," Travis walked around to pick up Perri's legs while the others carried his head and body being careful not to move him too suddenly.

Hovering behind, Nori sighed dejectedly. He hated arguing with Saria, especially when he ended up saying things out loud that he hadn't meant to. Sinking to the ground, he walked slowly after them; the feeling of not being needed anymore weighing on his heart.

Flinging open the back of the trailer, they heaved Perri into it where Travis kept an assortment of items and blankets. It looked like he slept in the trailer instead of the house, who could blame him with the state the place had been in?

"Alright, if you all wait outside, that would be good," Saria clambered up into the trailer and stood in the door.

"Why can't we come in?" Link asked, he'd never seen a healing ritual before so didn't understand any of it.

"Because…I'll be naked in here," Saria said seriously while on the inside she wanted to burst out laughing.

"W-what! What if someone peeks in?" Link's face turned a light shade of red, he didn't want perverts spying on his girlfriend!

"Yeah, Link wants to be the first person to see you naked!" Madi couldn't stop herself, she had to embarrass the both of them.

"Ye- shut up!" he flapped his arms wildly at a giggling Madi. "That's not a reason!"

"Madi, you're unbelievable sometimes, you know that?" Saria smirked. "And it was a joke."

Link still looked sceptical.

"It was!" Peering over Link's head, she wondered where Nori had gotten to. If he was walking then he was either upset or angry, or in this case, probably both. Either way, by the time he got down there she'd be finished.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Link jumped up next to Saria leaving Madi to continue chattering to herself. It scared him to see that a young fairy knew more about the facts of life than himself or Saria. Where she'd learnt the information, he didn't want to know.

"Of course! I already feel better," she replied. It was true that Saria looked better on the outside, on the inside however, she still felt fatigued from the shrine but didn't want to worry anyone. "The reason you should stay out here is because if anyone else is near, the energy may get transferred to them instead of Perri."

"Oh, I understand," Link nodded. "We'll stay out here and watch the door. But remember, travelling rule number four is don't kill yourself! Or should that be number one….? Hmm, I need to rearrange them." Taking one last glance at Saria, he closed the door.

"Number four huh? How many are there?" Travis gave Link a shock, he'd forgotten the dark-haired boy had been standing there.

"Uh, four," Link rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "In my defence, I've been too preoccupied to think up anymore." He couldn't help noticing the key poking out of Travis' jacket pocket, there had to be a way to get it.

"I bet you're a good kisser," Travis leaned lazily against the back of the trailer, his eyes half open staring at Link mischievously.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Link slowly edged away from the strange boy, it was clear Travis spent way too much time alone with the Pepeckeri. Looking into the clear morning sky, he noticed pairs of red flags suspended in the air. The flags went all the way around the town above the houses, he wondered what they were used for.

Following Link's gaze, Travis grinned. "Those are used for Pepeckeri races, we race around the perimeter of the town making sure to go through all the flagged gates. I'm one o' the best racers in the town."

"I bet I could beat you," Link said rather confidently. Inside, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to win but had to make it convincing enough so Travis would want to compete with him.

"Hah! I'd like to see ya try," Travis stood up from the trailer thinking Link had to be pulling his leg, there was no way someone with as little flying experience could win a race.

"If you're so confident then let's make it more interesting. If I win, I get that key," the Hylian was still looking at the key in Travis' pocket.

"Eh, what? No way, I love this key!" Travis put his hand over his pocket defensively.

"Afraid you'll lose?" Link smirked, he could see Travis didn't want to be known as a wimp.

"Heh, fine, I'm in. But if I win, what do I get?" he asked expectantly.

"Um," Link started fidgeting with his clothes, there had to be something he could offer as a prize. Rummaging through his items, he accidentally knocked some deku nuts onto the ground causing a blinding flash.

"What are those things?" Travis stared in awe at the pieces of nut on the ground. "How'd they do that flashy thing?"

"They're deku nuts, they can stun enemies and can be used to scare people." he laughed to himself at the memory of putting a bucket of deku nuts above Mido's door and watching them come crashing down when he came out of his house one day.

"Can I try throwing one?" the older boy reached for the one in Link's hand but only grabbed thin air as Link stepped backwards.

"If you win, I'll give you a whole bag. They'll be difficult to find again but I'll take the chance," Link pretended to be genuinely worried when in reality, he knew deku nuts were nearly as common as grass in the forest.

"Alright, you're on. I'll get the birds," Travis ran into the house to find Eckle and Feril who had recovered from the previous day.

Strolling casually into the main street with his hands behind his head, Link noticed Nori was still half way up the road. He was tempted to ask Madi to go cheer him up but somebody needed to stay by the trailer.

Moments later, both boys were high above the town by the starting gate. Travis had Feril while Link sat on Eckle waiting to be told the rules of the race.

"Ok, we'll race two laps around the course. In official races we have to go through all the gates, but since it's only us it won't matter if yer accidentally miss a few, jus' make sure to go in the general direction."

Nodding that he understood, Link asked Madi to count them in.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" she yelled from the trailer door.

And they were off.

Travis burst into the lead leaving a flustered Link at the starting line trying to get Eckle to move.

"Aw, come on!" he sighed leaning forwards on the bird's back. The instant he did that, Eckle shot off from the starting line, her long, multicoloured wings stretching out elegantly as she glided over the rooftops. Sliding his hands gently up the bird's neck, Link smiled when she obeyed and gradually moved higher to avoid the buildings. Swerving through a flag gate, he frowned when he saw Travis was so far ahead, he'd never be able to catch up.

Bringing Feril to a halt, Travis turned around with the cheeky smile still on his face.

"Thought I'd be a sport and wait for ya," he grinned before rocketing away once again.

"I don't need special treatment," Link growled. Accidentally slipping a hand around Eckle's neck, he got a shock when she twisted upside down and carried on flying with the boy holding on tightly.

Glancing behind, all Tracis could see was Eckle spinning madly through the air with an annoyed Link almost falling onto a near rooftop. He guessed the blond boy was better with horses than birds because he could've sat there all day and still beaten him with time to spare.

Finally gaining control, Link was able to manoeuvre Eckle into the second lap, even if Travis was close to overtaking them. Taking a quick look at the trailer, he gasped when it began to glow a blinding green. Leaping off Eckle, he landed clumsily on someone's roof before jumping to the ground.

"What's going on!" he shouted to no one in particular.

Hearing the commotion by the trailer, Nori decided to put his emotions aside and flew over to an anxious Link. Seeing the bright energy illuminating the trailer, his mind span into panic.

"Link, you've got to stop her!" the fairy buzzed around wildly in front of the boy's face. "She's used up all of her Sage energy so now she's using her life energy!"

"But what can I do?" Link grit his teeth in frustration, he'd told Saria he had faith in her and he wasn't about to take that back, but something had to be done.

"I don't know! Getting the trailer open would be a start!" Nori huffed wishing he wasn't so small.

"Whoa! What's goin' on down here?" Travis landed neatly next to Link with an expression of fascination on his face, he'd never seen such a spectacular sight.

_Saria? Can you hear me?_ Link received no response, he couldn't sense if she was conscious or not either… "She's not answering!" he yelled before dashing at the trailer without another thought.

"Answering? How could she? She's nowhere near you," Travis blinked stupidly as he watched Link throw himself at the trailer only to be thrown back at an incredible speed due to the sheer force of the energy.

Springing back to his feet, Link was about to try again when the energy began to slowly disappear. Making his way to the door of the trailer, he placed a hand on the handle and pulled it swiftly open.

"Saria!" he ran to the unconscious girl's side. All colour had been drained from her face leaving her with a sickly, pale complexion. Kneeling down, Link sighed with relief when he heard faint but steady breathing.

"Is she ok?" Nori quietly asked coming in after Link.

"I-I think so," Link replied placing a hand on her arm. Leaning closer, he could hear her mumbling something.

"I told you, there's no such thing as twisted corpses Rela, but don't tell Mido that," Saria muttered in her sleep.

"She must be fine if she's talking in her sleep," Link grinned. Turning his attention to Perri, he could see the bird looked a lot better now. His wing was practically perfect again, apart from a small scar connecting the wing to his body.

"Yes, well, she'll need to rest for a while," Nori said before making to leave, he knew he had some apologising to do when she woke up.

"I'll stay here," Link leaned his back against the trailer wall while stretching his legs out in front of himself. In normal circumstances he would have been tempted to tickle Saria's face or on his more mischievous days, pour water over her. Instead, he gently stroked her cheek wishing they could swap places.

Feeling something shuffling on his other side, Link turned to see Perri moving nearer to him. Laying his head on Link's shoulder, he stared intently at the boy with dark, round eyes.

"Um, hello," Link patted the bird's head then remembered the pendant. Taking it out of his tunic, he held it up wondering how Perri had managed to end up with it inside him.

Standing by the door, Travis couldn't believe how good Perri looked. More to the point, he didn't know how to thank Saria for saving his bird, tugging the key from his jacket, he held it for a second then looked at them again, then the key, then Perri. His eyes darted back and forth between himself and the others until he finally give in and tossed the key at Link.

"You might be a terrible racer but cutie there saved Perri….so I guess I owe her somethin'." Closing the door, Travis put his hand in a pocket and walked in a sluggish manner back to his house, talking quietly to himself as he did. "Gotta find me a new shiny thing, stupid Perri."

A light wind whistled through the town causing loose pieces of grass and stray leaves to fly through the mid-morning air.

Sitting on the fence surrounding Travis' field, Madi and Nori talked amongst themselves. Or to be precise, Madi nattered non-stop while Nori added in the odd word when he got a chance.

"Is Nori short for anything?" she asked randomly in between rambling about her life in Tarical and what Hyrule would be like.

"Nope," Nori replied bluntly.

"Hmm, Madi is short for Madeline, but I hate that. People only call me that when they're angry with me, I hope I'm not making you angry Nori, I hope I'm adding a wave of vibrant colours to your sad, depressing life." Madi smirked when she saw she'd struck a chord in the older fairy.

"My life isn't depressing, it's just….not what I expected it to be." Laying down on the fence, Nori placed his hands behind his head to admire the funny-shaped clouds above them. He remembered when he and Saria used to do that in the Sacred Meadow, Link too after he and Saria became friends. The memory always made him smile, he doubted they'd be able to do that again though.

Madi stared at him in silence for a brief moment before continuing with her questions. "How are fairies selected for a Kokiri? Is it something to do with personalities?"

"I'm not sure," Nori had never asked the Deku Tree how fairies were selected.

"I don't think me and Link would be put together, did he have a fairy?"

"Yeah, but she disappeared." Sitting up, Nori rubbed his head then squinted at the sun. "How long have we been out here?" he asked, changing the subject of Navi since no one would have an answer for it.

"Must be a few hours," Madi shrugged. Swinging her legs over the edge of the fence, her face lit up when she saw the trailer opening. "Saria! Are you feeling better?" the little fairy fluttered over to the recovered forest girl, she was happy to see a bit of colour had returned to her face.

"Yes, thank you Madi," Saria gave the fairy a bright smile which vanished when her stomach rumbled loudly. "I could use some food though,"

"Sounds good to me," Link popped his head out of the door behind her followed by a squawking Perri.

"Hoy!" Travis' voice interrupted their conversation. "Glad to see yer is ok Perri, all thanks to cutie of course. Apart from the key, I dunno how else I could repay ya," he nodded to Saria who was having her hair groomed by Perri's long beak, that dumb bird seemed to like her more than him, or anyone for that matter.

"Oh, it's fine, really. I couldn't leave Perri to suffer," Saria stroked the bird's neck as he continued to fuss over her.

"Where are you off to next?"

Searching for the map, Link ran a finger along to the next, and final pendant mark. "Ebelon continent by the looks of it, after eating of course."

"Haha, I'd offer you somethin' but the house is empty, I'm gonna head into Soli to stock up. I'll give you a lift if ya want,," Travis whistled for Feril and Eckle.

"That would be great," Saria untangled herself from Perri's neck which had been wrapped around her arm. "Where's Nori?" she felt a hint of guilt for forgetting about her guardian.

"I'm right here," Nori hesitantly hovered a few feet way from them . "I-I'm-"

"You're sorry about what you said and hope we can move on? Even though some things you say can be harsh, I know you only say them because you care. Besides, I couldn't be mad at you, who would sit on my shoulder mumbling in my ear?" Saria finished Nori's sentence off for him along with her reply.

"See, I suggested personalities and I was right!" Madi giggled. "Nori's the aggressive dominator while Saria's the passive pushover."

"I'm not a pushover!"

"I'm not a dominator!"

Both shouted at once.

Link's stomach suddenly growled louder than Saria's had. "Can we get some food then argue?"

At least they all agreed on that.

"Alright, you two can take Feril since he's the biggest, I'll use Eckle," Travis said while preparing to leave.

Walking to Feril, Saria paused when she felt something trying to pull her back. "Sorry Perri but you'll have to stay here, you need to rest that wing of yours," she pulled the bird into a hug. "You be good and don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

"Hey cu-Saria," Travis called from his spot on Eckle.

"Hmm?" she looked up at the boy.

"Why don't you have him? He likes you more than me anyway."

"I can't do that, he's yours," Saria removed her hand from Perri.

"Let me change that. Take the ruddy bird away from me before he drives me insane, please!" Trying not to smirk, Travis knew she wanted to accept.

"I…I guess so, would you like that Perri?" Saria asked as if the bird could understand her every word.

Flapping his good wing in response, everyone took that as a yes.

"Great, another crazy animal in the group," Link joked looking at Madi who was perched on Feril's feathered head.

"Talking about yourself, Link?" she said without bothering to turn around.

"Erm, anywho. It's way too cold on Ebelon for Pepeckeri and Perri will need a day or two to rest up. I'm guessin' you'll be comin' back to Soli, right? I'll be sure to meet you with him before you leave. If you're ready, we can be off." Directing Eckle into the sky, Travis flew out of the town with the others close behind.

* * *

Leaning by the city entrance, Taj watched the crowds of passers by with his eyes half open. He'd forgotten a fair was held on the beach outside the city every week, swarms of screaming kids didn't appeal to him much but it was worth a look.

Placing a hand on the long, metal rail which ran down the side of the sand-covered steps that gave easy access to the golden beach at the base of the cliffside, the Sheikah made his way through the bustling people. He ignored the weird looks many Meldorans shot him, one thought it would be entertaining to insult him for being a race from Hyrule, but got a shock when Taj reached into his own clothes and took out something to shut them up.

Entering the main fairground, his ears were bombarded with noises of music and shouts from store owners.

"Tektite burgers! Get your fresh Tektite burgers here!"

"Sand in a bottle! All the way from Gerudo Valley! Get your sand in a bottle while stocks last!"

Blocking out the sellers, he heard a familiar voice near the food wagons.

"I'll have extra octorok please and another slice of keese if there's one going." Link stood ordering a mass of food from one of the burger trailers by the side of a group of fair rides. A long line of hungry people waited impatiently behind the boy, scowls written on their faces.

"Would you like sauce with that, sir?" the owner asked adding yet another burger to Link's tray.

"Hmm, yes, I'll take one of each," Link made sure his hat was pulled over his ears then took out some ebelons.

"You're sharing those with me, right?" Saria smirked, the amount of things on the tray was a bit much, even for Link. Wiping her forehead, she hadn't been expecting it to be so warm, the sun was directly above them giving shadows no place to loom.

"Nah, buy your own," Link grinned. "Of course I am."

While Link went to find somewhere to sit, Saria carried on browsing the stalls. There were so many new sights and smells she'd never experienced before. Walking by one stall, a sweet, sickly smell wafted into her nostrils.

"Want to try some chocolate dear?" a wrinkly old woman croaked from behind her counter.

Moving closer, Saria peered at the multicoloured bags of what must have been 'chocolate' hanging on strings over the woman. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that is," she replied making sure her hair was still brushed over her ears.

"It's one of the finest things in this world, unless you're one of those who believes anything that tastes good is bad for you. Here, try some," the woman pushed a sample plate forward, square pieces of chocolate were placed on it, each a different colour.

Picking the nearest, light brown coloured piece, the Kokiri took a small bite. "Wow, this is good," she felt a rush of happiness flow through her body.

"Only ten ebelons a bag, buy some for later," sliding the plate away, the woman smiled. Her sample plate always brought in the customers.

Searching for the ebelons Link had shared with her, Saria took a few out and set them on the counter.

"Happy eating!" the woman waved goodbye. "Another addict added to the list."

After catching up with Link and the fairies and managing to eat something before it disappeared, Saria brought out the bag popping another piece in her mouth.

"What's that/" Link asked.

"This thing called chocolate, want some?" she offered him the bag.

"Sure, I've never heard of it until now." Taking the bag, Link felt the same warm feelings Saria had when he ate a piece.. "Mm, this is nice," he took another piece, then another and another.

"Hey! Leave some for me!" Saria swiped at the bag but missed when Link dodged her hand.

"Ok," he handed her a single piece before running off into the crowds.

Seeing a hyper Link running towards his position, Taj ducked into the nearest attraction which happened to be a house of mirrors. Peeking out of the door, he couldn't help cracking a smile when he saw Saria dive onto Link's back yelling something about the bag he was holding. Continuing to watch, he shook his head as Link escaped Saria's grasp and hopped onto the empty carousel after giving it a push, wearing a Goron bracelet and Ebelon Gauntlets obviously gave him an extra burst of strength.

Folding her arms, Saria turned her back on a grinning Link who span around and around on the ride. Reaching for her staff, she held it in front of herself and drew a large circle in the air. Immediately, a gust of wind engulfed the carousel causing it to speed up immensely.

"Aaaah Saria!" Link screamed clinging onto a wooden horse for his life. Stretching out an arm, he managed to grab Saria's sleeve pulling her into the whirlwind with him resulting with a high-pitched scream from the startled girl.

When the owner finally returned to his ride, he hit the stop button wondering how the ride had started without him knowing.

Laying dizzily on the ground, Link looked next to him to see the chocolate all over the sand, he hadn't gotten to have anymore on the ride… "Saria?" he looked to the other side of himself.

"Yeah?" rubbing her eyes free of sand, Saria could hear loud laughter echoing inside the mirror house, someone must've been having a good time.

"I feel sick."

Staring at him for a second, she started laughing. "So do I."

"Want some ice cream?" he helped her up.

"What is it?"

"Too hard to explain, you'll see." Taking a last look at the ruined chocolate, he shrugged. "I think they have chocolate flavour."

"Lovely," Saria slipped her arm through Link's, both agreeing to never eat proper chocolate again, or at least not for a few days.


	18. Frozen City of Drazzilb

Waves lashed gently against the sandy shore as two teenagers walked hand in hand along the beach, each holding a gradually melting ice cream cone.

"I like the sounds of the ocean, they're so calming," Saria licked her vanilla ice cream, chocolate flavour hadn't been available after all. "This ice cream is good, too. It's like edible snow."

Link blinked, he'd never thought of it like that before but she did have a point. The amount they'd spent that day had left them ebelonless, he hoped there was a free way to get across the sea.

Strolling along a bit further, they stopped at a large sign covered in Meldoran writing. Next to the writing, a picture of a sandcastle sat under a larger picture of a bag with different coloured ebelons on the front.

"Must be some kind of contest," Link concluded. There were groups of young children busily constructing sandcastles in a line by the sign. Smirking, Link dragged Saria to a clear spot. "We can beat them."

Empting his shoes of sand, Taj growled to himself about how much he hated the boiling heat, slipping the last shoe back on, he carried on down the beach towards the contest sign. Reading the pieces of Meldoran he could understand, the boy crossed his arms when he saw Link and Saria messing around. All of his life he'd been taught to only do things if he could gain from them, he wouldn't dream of doing something for….what was that word? Oh, fun. What a waste of time, improving one's life skills was far more important.

"Shouldn't you be tracking the final pendant?" getting fed up of watching them loitering in the sunshine, he strolled over to try and urge them to hurry.

"Shouldn't you be trying to ambush us?" Link idly replied. He didn't see Taj as a threat anymore, just a confusing guy who wanted to be a help and nuisance at the same time.

"Probably, but I think I'll wait until you have everything, then take it from you. By the way, that sandcastle sucks." the Sheikah grinned.

"Could you do any better?" Saria asked as the boy sat in the shade behind the sign.

"Of course, not that I'm entering, I doubt you'll be able to either." he couldn't help cracking another smile that day.

"Why?" Link frowned, did Taj know something they didn't?

As if on cue, a large, pompous-looking man towered over them. Adjusting his tiny glasses on his enormous nose, he leered at the pair.

"May I ask how old you two are?"

Without thinking, Link blurted out the first number that popped into his head. "Seven."

* * *

"I can't believe Taj didn't tell us there was an age limit of ten!" Link fumed, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Yeah, although you have to admit, it was funny when the man ordered us to leave. I've never been thrown out of something before, another new experience to add to the diary. Well, I would, if I owned one." Saria chose not to include the castle dungeon incident since technically, she was thrown into it, not out.

"Oy!" Madi's voice screamed from the other side of the beach, for a fairy, she had a huge set of lungs. "Wait for us!"

Setting himself on Saria's shoulder, Nori finally caught his breath. "Lucky we knew you were going to the ocean, or we would've been searching for hours."

"Heh, sorry. I guess we got carried away," Link winced when Madi started pulling at his hair again.

"If you're crossing the sea, there's someone that can help you at the end of the beach," Taj spoke behind them. Holding out a hand, he offered a pile of ebelons.

Both Link and Saria shot him blank looks.

"As I said, I want you to get that pedant, so take these or I'll toss them on the ground," not waiting for a response, Taj threw the ebelons on the sand then turned and walked away in the same eerie fashion he'd appeared.

Cautiously picking up the ebelons, Link attempted to count them

"One, five, ten…"

"You're counting them wrong," Madi landed on a blue ebelon. "This colour is worth one, the reds are worth five and the greens are ten. There're more, too, but you don't have any other colours."

"Oh, no wonder people kept giving me change when I paid them with green ebelons," Link added them correctly. "Wow, there's two hundred here, the fair is still open…"

"We'll get something if it's here when we get back," it was Saria's turn to pull Link before he could purchase anymore sugary snacks.

Reaching the far end of the beach, a massive blue box came into view. Moving closer, they could see and hear the thing vibrating constantly with two thick, grey pipes connecting it to the cliff wall. Some sort of substance was pumping from the wall, along the pipes and into the box; whatever it was must have been causing the box to react so violently.

"I don't see anyone," Link's eyes darted around looking for any signs of life.

"Fancy some fishing while we wait?" Saria took out the rod the pond owner had given her at Lake Hylia.

"Sure, let me put some distance between us first," shuffling off to the cliff, Link stuck his tongue out while holding his hat.

"What's the joke?" Madi followed Link to the wall.

"Last time we were fishing, there was a hat-shaped casualty."

"You're never going to forget that, are you?" slinging the rod backwards, Saria stepped to the edge of the shore. The cool water lapping over the tips of her boots reminded her of Summer times in the forest; the Kokiri would sit by the pond in the village, paddling their feet and pushing each other playfully into the water. She'd scrambled out of that pond fully-clothed so many times she'd lost count.

"Saria?" Link waved. "Are you casting today or...?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry," snapping out of her memories, she cast into the waves.

Satisfied that his hat was safe, Link rejoined her at the shore. Watching the lure bobbing up and down in the ocean, he squeaked when a shadow latched onto the bait.

"Eek! What is this!" Saria struggled to reel in whatever had snagged onto the lure, it felt like a huge deadweight trying to drag her underwater.

Shifting behind Saria, Link helped pull the unwilling victim in. "Ugh, I don't know but it's heavier than a Loach."

The rod had bent so far it was almost in the water, any longer and it would surely snap. Until, after a final pull…

"Aaaaiiieee!"

The 'fish' shot out of the water still attached to the lure hook. Flying over their heads, it landed head-first in some soft sand near the cliffs. A pair of chubby legs wearing dark grey trousers wiggled in the air while the mouth of the person shouted to be assisted from under the sand.

Hurrying over to lend a hand, Link tugged on the legs which soon tumbled out of the hole along with the rest of the person's body. Edging away, Link got a better view of the man.

At only half their height, he stood up brushing his oversized clothes free of sand. Straightening his flat cap, the tiny man tore the hook out of his baggy jacked sleeve and threw it to the side. Tidying his messy, white hair, he stared up at them through deep, blue eyes almost hidden under his bushy eyebrows. All the hair gave him the look of an old shaggy dog.

"Thanks!" he chirped. "I was testing out the bubble machine but didn't quite get where I wanted to go."

"So the box is a bubble machine?" Saria put her rod away.

"Yup! Here, let me show you kids," he waddled to the other side of the box where a handle was set in the side. Using his hands that were the size of his head, he jumped up and down while turning it to start the process. Turning a few more times, he grumbled when nothing happened. "Darn it! It worked earlier!"

"What's meant to happen?" Link had never seen such a strange little man before.

"When I turn this handle, a huge bubble is meant to come out and take the passenger across to Ebelon! I got half way today, but then the blasted thing popped and dropped me into the sea." Giving up on his invention, the man wiped a bead of sweat from his face. "Ah well, not like I'm popular in these parts."

"Why's that? Aren't you Meldoran?" Saria felt a bit rude for asking question after question but the man didn't seem to mind.

"Nope, I'm a Dwarf from the Rubin Mountains of Asterlin. I came here in the hopes my technology would be appreciated, pfft, how wrong I was! Stuck-up Meldorans, not interested in anyone but themselves! Pah! Excuse my rambling, did you want something?"

"We were told there'd be someone here who could help us get to Ebelon," Link explained. He didn't like the idea of travelling over water in a bubble, especially if they were known to pop.

"That's me! Don't look so scared!" he laughed at their worried expressions. "You won't be using the bubbles, I have another route for you." Pressing a button to stop the machine vibrating, the man scurried to a certain spot on the beach and began digging with his shovel-like hands.

Burrowing down a few inches, he cleared away the sand to reveal a wide, circular door. Gripping the edge, he used all his strength to pull the heavy thing open.

"There!" he smiled proudly. "That's the way to Ebelon."

Joining the man by the hole, Saria's eyes widened when she saw what was inside. A stream of rushing water going down under the sea into pitch-black darkness.

"We'll get soaked sliding down that," Link stated the obvious.

"Ah, that's where part two comes in," leaving them to stare at the water, the man skipped to another spot in the sand where he proceeded to dig some more. Opening another door, he pulled out a small, square wooden boat big enough for two people. Lugging the boat over to the waterslide, he held it at the entrance.

"This'll be fun," Nori said sarcastically. Hiding in Saria's pocket, he made sure he couldn't see what was going on.

"Usually, I charge one hundred ebelons per person, but since you did save me from drowning, I'll make it fifty." holding out a filthy hand, the man waited for Link to give him the correct amount. "Thank you, now hop in! Don't worry, no one has ever died using this. Someone did break both legs and an arm once though, but that was an entire month ago!"

Swallowing hard, Link clambered into the boat followed by Saria who slipped her arm around Link's the moment she sat down.

"The Drazzilb city is where you'll end up, nice folks those Drazzilbs, one gave me an ice lolly once, Have a good trip!" Giving the boat a sharp kick, he slammed the door blocking out the screams of terror.

"This is awesome!" Madi shouted from under Link's hat

"Maybe for you," Link choked out in between gushes of water spraying over the side of the speeding boat. Clutching one hand on the wooden edge and holding onto Saria with the other, he winced when a current of freezing air slapped their faces. Not being able to see a thing wasn't helping much, either.

The boat continued to toss them this way and that. Swerving around a series of corners, ducking under fallen rocks, the ride went on forever.

Squinting into the darkness, they could finally make out a slither of light at the end of the tunnel.

"Brace yourselves!" Nori advised peeking out of Saria's pocket.

Jolting over a jagged rock, the boat tumbled harshly into the air sending everyone onboard hurtling face-first out of the stream and onto dry land.

Spitting out a mouthful of cold, white slush, Link sat up to find the tunnel floor was covered in a layer of snow. Glancing above, he saw a variety of shining icicles hanging from the ceiling, everything was frozen. They'd arrived on the Ebelon continent.

"Should've brought my sled," Saria scooped up a handful of snow, it had been so long since she'd seen any.

"You mean the part that's left of it," Link grinned.

Picking themselves up, they trudged through the deep snow being careful not to slip on icy patches on the way. The only sounds in the cave came from a bitter wind which blew around them now and again as they travelled further in.

"I-it's s-so c-cold," Saria shivered wrapping her arms around herself. Kokiri weren't used to such cold temperatures, the Deku Tree controlled the seasons so they were just right, never too warm or too cold.

"Here, I don't need my jacket," Link draped his fleece over her shoulders. He'd felt the same when he first experienced extreme weather changes outside the forest, after a while he'd gotten used to them.

"Look at Link being all macho and chivalrous," Madi teased.

"You're only saying that because you're jealous," Link poked the fairy with his little finger.

"I'd reply with a witty remark but you're absolutely right," Madi gave a reply no one was expecting. "Are there any young, attractive male fairies in Hyrule?" she continued to ask a barrage of questions for the next few minutes.

Madi would have talked on if they hadn't been interrupted by a low, female voice.

"Olleh!" the voice echoed through the tunnel in a strange language. "Si ydobyna ereht?"

A giant shadow crept onto the wall as something lumbered closer towards them. Moving around the corner, the owner of the voice appeared.

The creature resembled a yeti, its whole body was covered in thick, white fur making it blend into the snow. Black, emotionless eyes examined the new comers, they were the only thing visible on its furry face. Raising a big, padded hand, it welcomed them with a wave.

"Hello," Link blinked.

Saria tilted her head to the side, she was sure she'd seen one of these things somewhere before. Then it hit her, the Soli train! Both she and Link had assumed they were simply big people wearing fur coats, but it looked like the fur was actually attached to their body.

"Oh, you don't speak Drazzilb," a hole in the being's face flapped open and closed when it spoke in a slow voice as if the language wasn't its first.

"Are you a Drazzilb?" Saria asked remembering what the Dwarf had said about the city they'd arrive in.

"Yes, I am Frieda. My city isn't far from here." the Drazzilb took in their odd appearances, a boy wearing a tunic and floppy hat, a girl with green hair wearing two jackets and two strange balls of light with wings. Frieda didn't know what to think. "Come, I'll take you there. All races are welcome."

Beckoning for them to follow her, Frieda hurried back to the Drazzilb city.

"This place is amazing," Saria stood open-mouthed in the centre of Drazzilb City.

The layout reminded Link of Goron City, only twice the size. Multiple floors made entirely of ice circled the main chamber, going higher and higher along the icy walls. Houses, shops, everything they needed to live were made out of light blue and white ice. Gates in the shape of snowflakes took the places of doors and windows, these gates were also used as sign posts directing lost travellers through the city. Tunnels snaked in every direction out of the room, most likely leading to the more private residential areas.

Numerous Drazzilb citizens went about their daily lives as Frieda showed them more of the city. Old, young, tall, short, some weren't even Drazzilbs at all.

"We get people from everywhere coming to stay. Some are Meldorans who dislike technology while others are from far off lands." Frieda ceased talking at a large, crystal double-door. "But enough of that, you came to see tonight's performance, yes?"

Both Link and Saria were curious as to why she'd welcomed them so warmly into the community,. They must have been expecting visitors for whatever performance she was referring to.

"Drazzilbs are famous for their skating, the city puts on shows whenever we can," pushing open the door, Frieda stood aside to reveal a magnificent cathedral. The floor was covered in smooth, polished ice which appeared to be the main stage for entertainment. Hundreds of frozen seats lined the sides of the room ready to occupy excited audiences. Above the seats, windows had been cut into the thick walls to create balconies for important guests or people willing to pay the top prices. Thin bridges constructed of ice stretched across from each balcony making it easy to pass between them.

Saria knelt down and ran a finger along the slippery ice, she'd skated once before but it felt like a lifetime ago. Looking up into the rafters, she admired the peculiar Drazzilb artwork, random shapes and letters that made no sense to her but were probably of importance to the city's people.

"Tonight's performance was to be our greatest, but our main star suddenly became ill. Without him, we cannot go on." Letting out a disappointed sigh, Frieda motioned for them to follow her to the place they could stay while in the city.

"What is the show about?" Link jogged to keep up with Frieda's swift walking.

"A young Drazzilb who's terrible at skating, however, one day he forces himself to learn how when his village is under attack," Frieda smiled proudly like it was the greatest story she'd heard in years.

"Interesting…" Link guessed the skating was better than the storytelling.

Guiding the pair through a maze of dim tunnels, Frieda led them past a room with a warm glow radiating from within.

An elderly Drazzilb was standing outside the room, muttering angrily in their language.

"Nwo pu ot tahw ouy did, yob! I t'nod evah evorp tey, I lliw noos hguoht!" his muttering changed to shouting the longer he waited in the tunnel.

"You must excuse Uncle, he thinks Donavon is poisoning people in the show. Don is a fire mage from Hyrule, he's been forbidden from casting spells in the city so remains in his room a lot," Frieda tried to ignore the Drazzilb referred to as 'Uncle' and carried on down the tunnel.

Inside the room, a hunched figure sat huddled in front of a bottle filled with burning blue fire. More bottles were scattered throughout the room, green, purple, pink, any colour flame imaginable had its place in a bottle on a frozen shelf or chair. The figure wore a deep red cloak covered in multicoloured symbols representing various fire spells and beasts. Cold hands clasped a mysterious cube with different coloured squares on it. The figure twisted the cube in numerous directions trying to match the colours into rows, then groups of nine.

"They say I'm not good enough to be the star of the play, I'll show them," the figure mumbled bitterly. Strands of red, orange and yellow hair stuck out of the top of the cloak as the person continued attempting to complete the cube. Taking one hand off the cube, it reached towards its chest where a golden key sat hanging on a metal chain. "As long as I have this key, things will go my way."

* * *

Saria sat shivering on a frozen block of ice that was supposed to be a bed. The whole guest room was of course, made of ice, the Drazzilbs obviously didn't realise not everyone could withstand the cold like themselves.

"Blue fire would be good right now," Link took a seat next to Saria putting an arm around her.

"Do you want your jacket?" she could feel his body shivering.

"No, you need it more," he gave her a reassuring smile kissing her cheek.

"If you want to warm up, we should go to those hot springs Frieda mentioned!" Madi suggested, she'd been wanting to take a look at them since they'd heard what they were.

"Um…" Saria started fidgeting with the jacket sleeve.

"What?" Madi asked. "They have separate rooms for guys and girls."

"I'd hope so," she let go of the sleeve. The last time Saria had been persuaded into bathing with others, it ended in herself and Fala being left naked in a pond in the Lost Woods while Rela ran away with their clothes. She was a generally private person so that had definitely been one of the most embarrassing days of her life.

"Come on, Frieda said it was usually quiet this time of day so no one else will be there. I promise not to look until you're in the water." Madi wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Okay, okay, I'll come," Saria headed for the door after the delighted fairy.

"I'll try them later," Link stretched his arms watching the girls leave the room. Taking out the Gilded Sword, he tossed it between his hands. The Ebelon swords were great but the thing he disliked was that he couldn't throw them freely like his normal blades.

Nori set himself on a chair to watch Link practising. The fairy had to admit, the boy had always shown outstanding natural talent with a sword. His eyes were mesmerized as Link performed a series of back flips, forward rolls and sidesteps as he fought an imaginary enemy. Nori couldn't help chuckling when Link chucked the sword into the air, span around and caught it in his other hand.

What neither fairy or boy knew was that someone stood behind the door, watching Link with immense fascination. Shifting away from the door, it hurried into the main city to tell the others of its find.

* * *

"Mmm, I'm glad I decided to listen to you," Saria murmured as the hot water soothed her body getting rid of the cold feeling. She'd made sure to put her clothes in a clearly visible place, no one was stealing them this time.

"Yeah and we have the place to ourselves!" Madi sat happily in the shallow part of the pool. "Lucky some signs had Meldoran under the Drazzilb writing and I could read Meldoran, isn't it? Or we may have gone to the guys' pool!"

"That would've been awkward," Saria nodded thankful for Madi's Meldoran reading skills. "I know Link will enjoy this, too."

Half an hour later, Link exited their room leaving Nori alone since the fairy didn't fancy the hot springs. Wandering along the tunnels, he spotted some signs.

"Urg, I can't read these."

Noticing a lone Drazzilb leaning by a wall, he thought it best to ask for directions.

"Excuse me? Do you know the way to the male hot springs?"

The Drazzilb stared deafly at Link, it was as if the thing didn't hear him. Then, it began flapping its arms in different directions, babbling in its own language.

Link had no idea what it was saying, the feeling of dismay overcoming him when he realised not every Drazzilb knew a second language. Bowing in thanks, he ran off down a tunnel he hoped would take him to the right place.

"We should get out before Link sends a search party," Saria stood to collect her clothes.

Just as she came out of the water, a running Link burst into the room and got an eyeful.

"Eek, Link! What're you doing!" Saria screamed sitting quickly back into the water.

"I-I, nyaah sorry!" his face didn't stop burning as he ran from the room, the colour was twice as bright as Malon's hair.

"See, I told you he wanted to see you naked!" Madi screeched with laughter.

Rounding a corner, Link slid onto the floor, sweat pouring from his forehead. Wiping a hand across it, he felt a mixture of embarrassment and guilt. The embarrassment was obvious but the guilt? His mind didn't want him to think what he had, he just couldn't stop himself. Saria certainly didn't have a child's body anymore, it was different…and he liked it.

Returning to their room, he flopped down on the ice bed face-first so his face would cool off. Not answering Nori's questioning expression, he was about to lay back down when Frieda bounded in.

"Hello! I was told you are good swordsman, yes? Can you skate?"

"I-I somewhat," Link gulped. The look on her face didn't fill him with confidence, did they know what he'd just done? Were they going to challenge him to a fight to the death on ice?

"Oh, please be in our play!"

"Me? I'm not an actor," Link mentally sighed, no fighting for him, yet.

"We will train now. You have no words, only skating," Frieda explained. "If you do, we will give you special gift." She brought out something from behind her.

It was an ordinary-looking jar, bigger than most, but still ordinary. Blue patterns were painted on the sides, swirling and twisting all the way around over a white background. Why would he want a jar, though?

"This is a special Gust Jar, try it!" Frieda handed him his new 'Gust Jar'.

Examining the gift, Link still couldn't work out what it did.

Helping Link understand, Frieda grabbed his hat and placed it on one of the beds.

"Aim the jar at hat and pull back."

Doing as he was told, Link got a surprise when the hat got sucked into the jar.

"Now, push jar forward."

Pushing forward, Link gawked in awe as the hat shot out of the jar.

"I can have this?" if he could keep something like this, the play had to be worth a go.

"Yes, if you help us," Frieda smiled at his reaction to the jar.

"Alright, I'll help you."


	19. A Burning Truth

A flushed Saria entered their room followed by a giggling Madi who wouldn't stop snorting wickedly.

"Hot springs were that warm huh?" Nori commented on her blushing face.

"The heat in there could've melted the whole city!" Madi teased.

"Travelling rule number five - learn to read all dialects of the kingdom you're visiting," Saria sat on the bed to tie a loose lace. She didn't want to publicly admit it, but she wasn't as embarrassed as she was making out. Sure, her initial reaction had been to hide under the water, but the more she thought about it, the more she wished something had happened - she just couldn't work out what. Shrugging it off, she put it down to these new teenage hormones messing with her mind. "Where's Link?" she asked Nori who still had no idea what Madi was snickering about.

"They asked him to be in the show, gave him an odd jar for his cooperation."

"Oh? That's great. I'm going to go watch them practice," she wanted to clear things up with Link since she had a feeling he felt bad about the whole 'ordeal'.

"Don't you think Link has seen _more _than enough of you today_?" _Madi couldn't help herself.

Saria was about to open her mouth to reply when a series of loud noises sounded above them.

_Clank! Clink! Clank!_

"Did you hear that?" Saria looked towards the ceiling, it was definitely coming from a room above, or outside the city.

"Sounds like some sort of tools hitting metal," Nori concluded.

Deciding there was nothing they could do, Saria left the room leaving Madi to fill Nori in on her juicy gossip.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the play hall, a group of Drazzilbs were gathered around Link staring at him with fascination. Word of his fancy footwork had spread like wildfire through the city, everyone wanted to see it with their own eyes.

Sitting in the stands, he struggled to get on the massive pair of skates they'd given him.

"You will show us your talent, yes?" a strange Drazzilb asked him.

"I'm not that good at skating…" Link wasn't enjoying all the attention, he had other things on his mind, mainly what Saria would say when she found him.

Wobbling onto the ice, he quickly adjusted to using the skates again, he'd gotten in plenty of practice travelling through ice caverns and Snowhead.

"Now, show us!" another Drazzilb cheered.

"Show you what?" Link had always been modest, only showing off when people insisted.

Each of then pointed to the sword strapped to his back.

"Oh, well, if you must see," unsheathing the Gilded Sword, Link gave it a horizontal swing.

"Ooooh!" They cooed excitedly. Their dark eyes were glued to the boy as he performed a sequence of simple sword techniques.

It was strange, being admired for something as basic as swinging a sword. Usually, people either ignored him or swooned over him for being a hero, not many liked him for simply being 'him'. He often wondered who he'd be friends with if destiny hadn't made him who he was. His mind became frazzled as all the possibilities raced through it, it would be easier not to think so much.

Finishing his little demonstration with a back flip, Link held himself in a handstand for a brief moment. Viewing the world in his upside-down state, he caught a glimpse of Saria standing by the wall in front of the stands. She was resting her head on her hands, watching him intently like she always did when he wanted to show her something. No matter how many doubts crept into his head, he knew Saria had always liked him for who he was, not what he was. And that's why he loved her, more than he could ever hope to show.

But now, she looked so sad, he hated seeing her like that and he had a feeling it was because of him. Snapping out of his thoughts, Link realised he was still upside-down. The crowds of Drazzilbs had blurred into the background, the only thing visible to him was Saria.

Letting himself fall to the ice with a thud, he stumbled up to see the Drazzilbs cheering like crazy, even though he hadn't pulled off the back flip properly. Turning towards the stands, he saw her again, but she wasn't sad - she was smiling. Fetching out a bag of deku nuts, he gave them to the nearest Drazzilb; everyone outside the forest was fascinated with those nuts so it would buy him some time out of the spotlight.

Skating over to the wall, he leaned opposite Saria. "About earlier," he began, trying to word what he wanted to say was harder than he imagined. "You know, it was an accident, I would never, um, do that. Not that I didn't like it, because I…uh...I mean-"

"Link?" Saria interrupted his rambling.

"Yeah?"

"Come here."

Moving around the wall, he stood next to her as she held his arm and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh, really?" he smirked. "I'd like that." Pulling her close, he slipped his arms around her.

"I hoped you'd say that," she grinned and kissed him.

Up above the ice rink, the figure in the cloak stood on the bridge connecting the balconies. He was in his late teens, although, one would think he was a lot older looking at his face. Dark rings circled his fiery eyes, flames literally burned within his pupils. His sickly pale complexion gave off the impression that he hadn't slept in days and made someone like Taj look tanned. Not removing the cloak from his head, he glared down upon the room, still playing with the strange cube between his hands.

Switching his attention to Link and Saria, he quietly snorted. He didn't know what Hylians wearing forest clothes were doing all the way out in the city, he just hoped they wouldn't get in his way.

* * *

Walking back to their room after rehearsal was over, Saria heard the odd clanging sounds coming from somewhere outside the city once more.

"Do you hear that?" she asked Link who nodded.

"Wonder what it is…" he looked at the ceiling then remembered what was said at the Soli parade. "I'm willing to bet it has something to do with Coral, and we did promise Celest we'd find out what's going on."

"Right, but where's the exit?" Saria hadn't seen any exits apart from the one they'd entered through. There had to be another to get to the surface.

"Only one way to find out," Link took her hand and they began wandering through the maze of dark tunnels.

On the way, many Drazzilbs stopped them to congratulate Link on his role in the show. The constant attention made him grateful that only a handful of people in Hyrule knew he was the Hero of Time, he dreaded to think of the amount of fan girls - and boys, he'd have chasing after him if they did know.

Escaping the excited crowds, they turned down a narrow path which led to a dead end.

"Look!" Saria pointed upwards where a frozen door was set in the ceiling.

Running his hand along the wall below the door, Link found it was covered in a thin layer of snow which was concealing something. Brushing the snow aside, he discovered a long rope ladder leading up to the door.

"Is that safe?" Saria eyed the ladder, it didn't look like it had been used much.

"We'll soon see, catch me if I fall," Link joked grasping the ropes in his hands. Reaching the top, he pushed a hand firmly against the door and to his surprise, it flew open letting a bitter wind smack him in the face.

Pulling himself out of the hole, he squinted over the snow-covered plains. The only thing he could see was thick snow in every direction. No wonder no one lived on the surface – there was nothing of interest there.

Popping her head out of the city, Saria winced when a strong gust of wind wrapped around her bringing with it a flurry of snowflakes. Clambering up onto the ground, the sheer darkness of the clouded sky made her wonder if the continent ever saw a ray of sunlight. Or was it possible for a place to be shrouded in darkness forever?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a pained shout echoed through the freezing air, the reason for them coming to the surface flooding back to her.

"It came from down there," Link turned to look down a snowy slope. The wind may have been blocking his vision, but it didn't stop his immaculate hearing from leading the way.

Fighting against the wind, they came to another hill which was sloping upwards. Crawling over the snow, the sight below wasn't something they'd been expecting.

Small groups of people dressed in nothing but tattered rags were digging in the sides of the hillside opposite them. Some looked as if they hadn't stopped working in ages.

In the centre stood Coral, watching over the activities with cold, callous emotion in her violet eyes. Noticing one of the workers stop for a breather, she raised a single finger sending a wave of magic into his body causing him to crumple onto the ground yelling in agony.

"Let that be a warning to the rest of you, there is no time for a break under my control," the empress continued to watch the man twitching helplessly on the floor, a slight smirk crossing her pale face. Closing her eyes, she disappeared in a flash of light.

Looking to his right, Link saw another flash way off in the distance, Coral must've been lurking over there somewhere.

"They're Hylians! I knew she was treating them badly!" Saria hissed not noticing the second flash that Link had. Climbing to the top of the hill, she got a shock when a magical barrier threw her backwards.

"So that's why they can't escape," Link helped her up. There wasn't enough time before the play to do anything else, but later he'd come back alone. He knew if he told Saria what he wanted to do she'd insist in coming with him, he didn't want her getting hit by one of Coral's spells. After the show, he'd put an end to the empress' cruel actions once and for all.

* * *

That evening, the cathedral was packed full of chattering Drazzilbs, Meldorans and even a few Hylians. Sitting in the front row between two ecstatic Drazzilbs, Saria had a great view of the main stage which would soon be ready to begin. In her hand, the Kokiri held an ice lolly the Drazzilb next to her had insisted she try.

"This should be interesting," Nori said from her shoulder while Madi lounged on her head.

Saria simply nodded in response, the lolly in her mouth.

"Is Link a good skater?" Madi asked.

Saria nodded again, the lolly still in her mouth.

"Did you lose your voice?" Nori wondered since it wasn't like Saria to say nothing to him or Madi.

She shook her head and tugged at the lolly.

"Oh! It's stuck to your tongue!" Madi burst out laughing but quickly stopped when she got flicked in the face by Saria's finger.

In the dressing rooms behind the main hall, Link sat on an icy bench watching numerous Drazzilbs rushing around completing various activities before show time. Kneeling down to tie up his skates, a pair of dusty, red boots appeared in front of him.

"Who are you?" Link asked taking in the boy's fiery appearance.

"Name's Donavon, or Don for short," he smirked extending a hand for Link to shake. "I auditioned for this show but they said I'm not a good enough skater."

"Sorry to hear that, I'm sure if you practice you could be in the next one," Link stood to find he was a few inches shorter than the strange boy.

"Yes, the next one," Don said, a hint of anger in his voice. "What's a Hylian like you doing way out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Link pushed past the boy, he didn't like people being so nosy.

"Some friends of mine came to Meldora a few months ago but never returned home, so I thought I'd come find them myself. This is where I found-" he stopped himself from saying any more. "Never mind. Be sure to break a leg out there." Sweeping out of the door in his cloak, Donavon disappeared into the crowds.

"Ah, there you are!" Frieda caught up to Link as he waited to go on. "Here, wear this," she handed him a big, woolly coat the same colour as Drazzilb fur.

"But I won't be able to breathe," Link slipped the coat over his arms, the weight pressing against his back.

"As long as you can skate," Frieda smiled and shoved him into the arena with the rest of the cast.

"Haha, look there's Link!" Madi scoffed.

"Oh my, what is he wearing?" the ice lolly unstuck itself from Saria's mouth when she saw what Link looked like.

There was a hush in the stands, the cast was ready and the opening music started to play. A Drazzilb stood in the centre of the ice to introduce the show, when suddenly there was a loud bang from above.

Hundreds of multicoloured flames danced on the ceiling, reflecting brightly on the ice below. In the middle of the bridge, Donavon stood glaring over the crowds, flames swirling majestically around his body.

"You didn't want me in the show, so I thought I'd create my own opening piece," he grinned. Twisting the cube in his hands a final time, he was delighted when the colours matched up at last. Rolling the cube on to the bridge, he nodded to himself when it landed greenside up. At the same time, the key around his neck levitated out of his robes and flashed a bright green. Instantly, the top of the cube opened and out flew a shower of emerald fireballs which rained down upon the audience.

"What the?" Saria almost got crushed by a crowd of Drazzilbs who were running for their lives. Narrowly avoiding a fireball, she gasped when the seats next to her started to melt. "I don't think this is part of the show." Glancing towards the bridge, she spotted Donavon throwing the cube along in front of him while the key flashed the corresponding colours. Wait… the key? That guy had a key…

Squeezing through the crowds, she ran up the stairs leading to the highest balcony bridge above the one Don was on.

"Where's she going!" Nori had lost sight of her in the mass of screaming people.

Sidestepping out of the way of a blue fireball, Link wasn't shocked to see steam seeping up from the floor - the ice was melting, and melting fast. Ducking as another fireball slammed into the cold surface, he had to do something to stop them before there was nothing but a pool of water left. He had a feeling that Don was mad at not being in the show, but this was ridiculous.

Taking out his new Gust Jar, Link wondered if it could be used to absorb fire. Rolling under another attack, he gulped when the ice cracked and broke apart leaving him standing on one side of the room. Holding the jar in front of himself, he was about to try it out when he saw something that made him want to scream.

Saria was crawling along the bridge above Don. Leaning over the edge, she tried to grab the key when it hovered in the air flashing different colours but kept missing.

Not wanting to attract attention to her, Link grit his teeth and aimed the jar at an oncoming fireball. Struggling to pull the fire to him, he was relived when it snaked its way into the jar, now all he had to do was absorb the rest of the flames while Saria got the key.

"Looks like my audience left, luckily there's still one person willing to stay for the show," Don smirked at Link back flipping and rolling to dodge his fire. Noticing a group of Drazzilb guards hurrying up the steps, he blocked the bridge entrance with a wall of fire. "Skate your way through that," he laughed then felt something touch the tip of his cloak. Reaching up, he wrapped a hand around Saria's wrist dragging her down next to him. "I stand corrected. Two people willing to stay for the show, and one gets to be in it!"

"Saria!" Link shouted. If she fell from that height, he didn't want to think what would happen. Throwing off the coat, he could move a lot quicker.

Preparing to roll the cube again, Don stumbled backwards as Saria elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Losing his footing, he slipped over the edge not letting his grasp loosen on the struggling girl. If she hadn't grabbed the side of the bridge, both of them would have fallen to their deaths.

"Not quite the idea I had in mind," Saria tried pulling them up but Don was too heavy, she needed something to drop down onto… Then she remembered the wilted plant Link had been given by the woman at the inn in Hyrule. "Link, can you throw that old plant of yours up here!"

"Old plant…?" Link had to think for a second. "Oh!" he rummaged through his possessions and brought out the dead plant Clara had given him. Placing it in his slingshot, he shot it up towards the bridge.

Concentrating on the flying plant, Saria focused her energy willing the it to grow. Within moments, the rotten roots morphed into healthy green leaves, a long stem sprung from the centre rocketing towards the ceiling. Things were going perfectly, until a large, blue head sprouted at the tip of the stem. A drooling mouth full of sharp teeth formed in the head snapping hungrily for a taste of anything edible.

"I didn't expect it to be a giant deku baba!" Saria screamed as her fingers slipped from the bridge, both she and Don fell straight into the monster's hungry mouth.

"No!" Link tried bringing out his Ebelon Swords but they weren't charged. Muttering a string of curses, he clutched at the Gilded Sword skating towards the flailing plant. Moving into attack, he slashed at the twisting stem cutting the head clean off.

Before Link could attempt anything else, the head exploded in an eruption of flames sending its victims crashing into the stands.

"I'm glad I know Nayru's Love," Saria coughed. Calling off the spell, she held up the key she'd grabbed from Don as they'd fallen into the deku baba's mouth.

"It was the key I tell you!" Don shouted when the guards surrounded him, the burning flames in his eyes vanishing. "That thing and the box were controlling me!"

"Casting illegal fire spells in the city, ruining our show, we'll see what they say about that in Hyrule when we ask them to throw you in Arbiter's for a cool off session." the guards dragged the protesting boy away, ignoring his constant yelling.

"That was an awesome performance!" Madi cheered. "I almost believed the part where you fell into that huge plant's mouth was true!"

* * *

Night time was peaceful in the city. Link sat silently on a chair in their room watching Saria and the fairies sleeping. He knew if he wanted to go that now was his chance, Saria would more than likely be mad at him but at least she'd be alive. Being careful not to wake anyone, he snuck out of the room and retraced his steps to the city exit.

The surface looked exactly as it had a few hours ago, apart from the dark storm clouds hovering above.

Running down the slope, Link could barely make out the mountains in the distance. Walking a little further towards the mountains, he could see what was in between him and his destination. A frozen lake.

"Looks simple enough to cross," Link mumbled while putting on his skates. "May as well get there faster."

Sliding casually over the ice, he wondered if this was it, until a cold hand shot out from below the surface and wrapped its frozen fingers around his ankle. Reaching for his sword, he sliced the hand in half and carried on moving, at a faster pace since he didn't want anything else unexpected jumping out at him.

Dozens more hands burst through the ice clawing at his feet. Jumping over a group, he span around slicing them to pieces. Repeating the actions on another group of hands, he finally arrived at the other side of the lake, the mountain entrance was literally feet from him. Suddenly, a lone hand popped up followed by its arm, followed by the rest of its body.

Jumping back in shock, Link shook his head, no frozen ice statue was going to get in his way. Leaping forward, he twisted into a spin attack, cutting the statue in two. Now to find that ice witch and whoever else was working for her.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Saria groaned when she saw it was still dark. Even with two jackets, her sleeping bag and everything she owned on top of her, she was still freezing. Rolling off the bed, she untangled herself from the mass of blankets to find Link wasn't in the room.

"Do you know where Link is?" she whispered to Nori who was half awake.

"Um, I don't think so," he yawned. "Maybe he went for a walk around the city."

"I saw him leave half hour ago," Madi interrupted them.

"It's not like him to go somewhere without saying anything," Saria frowned. He wouldn't go up to the surface without telling her, would he? There was one way to be sure, but she wasn't supposed to use it unless it was an emergency. Shrugging, she closed her eyes and started picturing his face, she'd make something up if he figured out what she was doing.

The fairies sat watching her standing there with her eyes closed.

"What's she doing?" Madi whispered to Nori.

"Something she shouldn't, probably," Nori replied.

"I knew it!" the girl snapped out of her trance. "He's gone to some mountains on the surface."

"You read his thoughts didn't you?" Nori smirked. "And after you told him not to do that to you."

"Yeah but only briefly, and it _is _necessary if he's not going to tell me himself that he's going off to get killed," she made excuses while packing up their things. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Cautiously entering the small cave at the base of the mountains, Link kept a firm grip on his Gilded Sword in case something decided it wanted to attack.

Stepping further in, he found it was empty. Or so he thought.

"Nice to see you again, Hero," a familiar voice sneered. There was a flicker of light and there stood the old man with a fresh cup of tea in his hand. "I should've known you'd make easy work of my dragon."

"I had a feeling it was you," Link growled. Right from the start, this old guy had been following him and Saria, it was like he knew exactly where they were going every step of the way. But why had he given Link those gauntlets if he'd truly wanted them out of the picture?

"Oh? You're smarter than you look, but none of that matters now. I'm here to take back what rightfully belongs to the empress, she'll be most pleased when I get rid of you and bring her the pendants." Slipping a hand into his robes, the man brought out the final pendant. "Empress Coral gave each pendant to someone of great magical power, Carculous, Eskena, the guardian of Imitia and of course, myself."

Link wanted to correct him on the Imitia pendant but thought it best not to.

"Now that they've gathered plenty of magical energy, they are ready to be opened. Sadly, that isn't my job and the empress won't reveal her full plans, I'm just here to take them from you." Finishing his tea, the man waved a hand over the cup causing the tealeaves to swirl into different shapes. "I've seen you fight one, how about twenty?" he chuckled when a group of stalfos materialised in the room.

He watched Link slash through each stalfos with ease, arms, legs and heads flew everywhere. Shields shattered at the blade of one boy, one boy who could slaughter an entire army without even breaking a sweat. One thing the man did notice was that Link wasn't using the Ebelon Swords, he wondered how much energy the gantlets had gathered since their creation.

"Impressive," he nodded when the stalfos were all piles of bones in the snow. "Are the Ebelon Swords too hard to use?"

"They're out of magic," Link took a breath.

"Such a shame, why don't you let me take a look?" Not waiting for a response, he held both hands out.

Link winced when the gauntlets started to burn, sliding off his hands, they flew over to the man who slipped them on his own.

"Ah, such power. I can feel it generating through these gloves as we speak," holding his hands out in front of himself, the man aimed his palms towards Link. "Let me return it to you."

Blinding spheres of magic formed in the centre of his hands, all the magic Saria had poured into the gantlets returned to the surface.

Bracing himself, Link was ready for any tricks he had planned. Well, any trick apart from the one that happened next.

At the last second, the man switched the direction of his hands from Link towards the cave entrance. Releasing the energy, an enormous blast of forest magic shot through the cave entrance.

"Wha?" Link couldn't work out why he'd done that. Until he heard a scream that sucked the life from his face. Peering out of the cave, he saw the blast slam right into Saria sending her flying back the whole length of the lake.

"I don't know why the Forest Sage stays with you," the man grinned. With a wave of his hand, the cave entrance became blocked with huge stone boulders. "After all, you are a murderer."

Ignoring the murderer comment, Link couldn't believe his eyes, he just stood there staring at the boulders. Saria was hurt and there was no way he could get to her, she was hurt because of those gauntlets, the gauntlets from that man… The same man who had sent the dragon which had also nearly killed her. A rush of anger overtook his body, he could feel a mixture of spells fighting to be used to destroy this evil person, if he was worth calling a person.

"You-you monster!" Link spat. Holding the Gilded Sword between both hands, he felt Din's Fire burst from his fingertips. The flames lit up the sword, setting the blade on fire. "I'll kill you for what you've done!" In a whirlwind of anger, the boy lunged forward, the only thing in his mind was a cloud of rage.

.


	20. Blast from the Past

"Saria! Come on, wake up," Nori landed on her chest to find it was barely moving. The blast had drained all life from her body, she just lay there, motionless in the snow.

"She'll be ok, right?" Madi hovered over the lifeless girl, trying hard not to cry.

Nori didn't answer, he remained perfectly still, his eyes fixated on Saria's pale face. He wished so much that this could be some terrible nightmare, that she'd open her eyes and ask why he was almost in tears. But she didn't, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. In the forest fairies were everything to a Kokiri while in the outside world, they were useless.

Rushing at the man, Link sprung into the air letting his entire body twist into a human Catherine wheel. Spinning at an incredible speed over the man's head, a shower of burning flames rained over him. Landing behind, Link didn't waste anytime in sending a stream of flames from his sword straight at the man's back.

When the fire finally died out, Link took off his skates and hurled them at the man, he knew it was a cheap move but his mind was set on causing this guy pain no matter what he used. Readying his sword once more, the boy threw himself back into the fray, taking out his Hylian Shield for extra defence.

"Is this what you are like when slaughtering each monster that crosses you? A cold, merciless killer," the man emerged from the flames, his cloak singed but apart from that he wasn't wounded at all. He was disappointed to see his words were falling on deaf ears, Link was either too angry to hear, or was ignoring him on purpose. Narrowly dodging a well-aimed sword slash, he knew he had to put a stop to this before he got hit. The boy may have been in a blind rage, but one good slash from him could send the most powerful enemy flying.

Link continued slashing and stabbing endlessly at the man who managed to avoid his every attack. He knew he was doing something wrong but didn't care, all he wanted was to cause this monster pain and he'd use any means of force to make sure it happened. Diving forwards in a jump attack, he gasped when the man summoned the Ebelon Swords and knocked him back to the ground. Raising his shied to protect himself, Link got another shock when the blades cut right through it, shattering the thing in half as if it were glass and leaving a nasty gash on his right hand.

"I told you they were strong," the man grinned as he watched the blood dripping from Link's hand. "But you never did bring out their true potential. I'll have to demonstrate." He brought them both down on Link only to be pushed back by the Gilded Sword.

"I guess I never did because they're weapons of evil," Link choked out. The more he fought, the more he realised he needed to channel his anger into his weapons and not let it overtake his body. Shoving the swords out of his face, he leapt up with only his sword for protection, using another shield wouldn't work if it was going to get broken like the first.

"You don't feel physical pain, do you?" the man commented on Link's wound. Blocking a series of swift attacks with his blades, he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious, each of Link's attacks was becoming more and more accurate. If he couldn't weaken the boy physically then he'd attack him mentally. "She's dead you know, your little girlfriend. Having so much of their own energy shot at them would have destroyed anyone."

"You're lying," Link's anger starting rising again but he was able to control it this time. He wasn't going to fall for the trap, Saria was stronger than that, she wouldn't be killed by her own magic...she couldn't…

"Why would I lie? She's gone, you have nothing to fight for any more," he smirked when Link carried on attacking but not as aggressively, he was clearly thinking over the situation. Now for the icing on the cake. "And it's all your fault. She only came here because she was worried about you, but she paid a dire price, didn't she? Someone like you shouldn't be allowed to have people who care about them, they just end up in more trouble than you're worth."

"Shut up!" Link snapped, he couldn't take much more. "Every being that has died by my blade has deserved it. Everything I do is for the benefit of someone else so I'm not going to stand here and let you say this crap to me! Saria wouldn't be happy if I took what you say seriously." Pushing another Ebelon blade away from him, Link shoved the man towards the back wall of the cave. Each of his attacks overpowered the two swords, sending him further towards the wall. Seeing his chance, Link sliced his sword past the blades creating a deep wound in the man's arm.

Back flipping out of the way as the man tried to slash him with the other sword, Link watched him grasp his bleeding arm in pain.

"This isn't over yet," the man breathed heavily, pretending to be weaker than he was. Maybe if he made himself look pathetic, he could appeal to Link's better side and throw him off guard, if he really wasn't as merciless as he'd accused him of being. Focusing his power into the swords, he snickered to himself beneath his cloak, they would be ready soon.

Suddenly, the cave floor started to rumble violently causing both Link and the man to almost lose their footing. The sound of immense energy tearing through the lake outside could be heard as the ground started to crack open in various parts of the cave. Link imagined it was another trick, until he heard a voice he'd been desperate to hear.

"Efflorescent Eruption!" Saria's voice echoed around the cave.

Flowers and small trees began sprouting up through the earth turning the cave into a miniature forest. A blast of green magic tore through the boulders blocking the entrance. Shooting across the cave, it slammed into the man sending him smashing into a newly formed tree.

Staggering to his feet, he positioned the swords in a cross formation in front of himself. Both blades started glowing a blinding white, the more power poured into them, the brighter they became.

"No you don't!" Link ran across the cave, now that he knew Saria was alive he wasn't going to let that man cause them any more pain.

Leaping into the air, Link's foot landed in the centre of the blades for a mere second enabling him to use the swords as an extra boost when jumping above the man's head. Placing his sword directly below himself, he closed his eyes and didn't think about the situation, he just let the blade sink painfully through the man's cloak into his skull.

"Aaaahhhh!" wave upon wave of magic vibrated from the Ebelon Swords, but it was too late.

Link ignored the screams of agony and carried on pushing the sword down using all of his weight to make sure it worked. Pulling the sword out, he leapt backwards watching spurts of blood fly in every direction.

The last thing the man felt was his own burning blood dripping into his eyes. The last thing he saw was Link standing to the side of him, a mixed expression of relief and horror written on his face. The last thing he heard was:

"You're right, I am a merciless killer, but only with bastards like you."

Then he fell to the ground.

Link couldn't stop staring at his latest victim. Lifeless eyes looked back at him, eyes that would forever haunt him. He wasn't used to killing something that could answer him but he knew it had to be done, it was either him or that guy. And after what he'd done to Saria, he deserved everything he got. He dropped his weapon and continued to stare at the pool of dark blood gradually spreading along the floor.

Saria almost threw up when she saw the blood from the entrance of the cave. Silently stepping over bits of shield and vines, she stood a few inches behind Link while the fairies watched from outside.

"Sorry for sneaking off without you," he said without turning around. He wanted to hug her so badly but one of his hands was soaked in blood. Saria didn't like blood, or swords, not that she'd outright said it, but he knew. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to be with me anymore, now that you've seen the amount of destruction I can cause. It would tear me up inside, but maybe I do deserve to be alone."

He would have gone on but the warm feeling of her hand around his stopped him.

"Link, don't say things like that. Remember what you said in the valley? About us never being apart again."

Link nodded. Of course he remembered that night, he'd meant every word he'd said - he still did. The old man's words did echo in his mind, though. Sometimes he wondered why she bothered with him.

"Because I love you, silly," Sara answered the question he hadn't even asked. "And next time you get the urge to run off alone, at least let me know so we can do it alone together."

Taking off his hat, Link tore a piece from the back and wrapped it around his wounded hand then pulled her into a hug. "Okay, I promise," he leaned in and kissed her before giving her an odd stare. "How'd you know what I was thinking anyway? And more importantly, how'd you find me?"

"Um, I just know you that well?" she shot him a bright smile that he couldn't argue with.

"Uh-huh," he returned the smile still not convinced she was telling the truth, but as long as she was alright he didn't care. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Saria shook her head. "Being blasted across the lake wasn't much fun but I was able to reabsorb most of the energy, seeing as it was mine in the first place."

"What about-" Link was interrupted by a rustling sound behind them.

A spiral of tealeaves twisted out of the man's cloak, taking the shape of his face, they lunged forward.

"Look out!" Madi yelled from the entrance.

"Wha?" Link went to reach for his sword on the floor but got knocked over by the force of the tealeaves. Sitting up, he gasped when the two pendants he'd been carrying levitated out of his tunic. Glancing at Saria, he saw the pendant she had fly into the air too, along with the fourth from the man's cloak.

Swirling out of the cave, the leaves took the pendants away with them.

"Where are they going?" Saria rubbed her head.

"I don't know, but we'll find out," Link grabbed his blood-stained sword and headed after the floating pendants.

The lake was a deathly silent. An array of frozen limbs littered the surface while more icy victims lingered beneath. The four pendants hovered to the centre of the lake before splitting apart, one drifting to each corner as the tealeaves came to a halt and sprinkled lifelessly to the ground.

The moment they stepped out of the cave, a magical barrier materialised behind them blocking the fairies from getting out. A second barrier appeared at the opposite side of the lake, stopping anyone form leaving or entering.

"You may have defeated the Drifter, but with his final breath he brought the pendants back to me," a cold voice spoke out of nowhere.

"What? Those pendants are nothing to do with you," Link replied while looking into the sky as if the owner of the voice was hiding up there somewhere.

"Oh, but they are." Rising out of the centre of the lake, Coral appeared before them. "You see, the Poe Sister story was merely a cover-up to get you out of Hyrule. Ganondorf and I agreed they would be the best to use, considering it was only a matter of time before you returned to the forest."

"So they truly are evil," Saria swallowed. The Poes were back in her temple, getting up to Farore knew what and she wasn't there to do anything about it.

"Precisely." the empress smirked. "And I'm sure they're having a marvellous time while there's no one there to guard it."

"Why you!" Link went to charge forward but got blasted back by a surge of frosty energy.

"This took a lot of planning, I think you need to hear the full extent of my story before I kill you. It would be a shame for you not to, after all, you were both such a major part of it." Sending a string of magic towards one of the pendants, she smiled with satisfaction as it opened. An orb of earth magic burst free of its prison and was drawn towards Coral who absorbed the mass of energy.

"How did you open that without a key?" Saria asked.

"Those withered old things? They were simply distractions I created to keep you busy while the pendants grew stronger. They worked as a good distraction for the Sheikah boy too, I'm sure he's still out there looking for the final key. Although, how he found the map for them is a mystery, considering I gave it to Ganondorf who hid it within the fortress of his people." Summoning another pendant, she zapped it open to reveal an orb of fire.

"So they're elemental," Nori whispered to Madi from behind the barrier. "Meaning the other two must be water and air."

"Why would she want them?" Madi watched the orb of fire drifting towards Coral.

"We'll probably know soon enough," the older fairy leaned against the barrier, feeling useless yet again.

"When Ganondorf entrusted the pendants to me, I offered two to those fools who think Meldora rightfully belongs to their bloodline. I insisted I'd help them overthrow the king in exchange for them looking after the pendants. What I didn't predict, is that Eskena would discover my true plans and refuse to return the pendants to me. Instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands, until you came along and did my work for me." the burning orb merged slowly into her body.

Beckoning for the next pendant to come to her, Coral smiled when the orb of water span out and followed the first two orbs.

"Ah, the water orb, the remaining energy of my loyalist friend. I had promised him the entire Ebelon Continent when I finally became queen of Meldora. Of course, I was lying but he wasn't to know that, was he?"

Link scowled, this woman didn't show a shred of remorse for someone who had been killed thinking they were her friend. A wave of anger overtook him, he'd taken the life of someone who had been wrongly mislead.

"And finally," she turned towards the only pendant still unlocked. "The orb of air. When all four are under my control, I'll be able to begin the last stage of my plan." Focusing on the pendant, she screamed when it wouldn't open. Then something snapped in her mind. "That stupid bird, it got in my way when I tried getting into Imitia resulting in the pendant becoming stuck in its wing! I managed to capture the creature but it somehow escaped… Ah well, three will have to do for now, until I find another wind source."

"So you have control over three elements. Now what? You going to blast us with them?" Link didn't see what she could do to him that was worse than the things he'd already been through.

"Oh no, I shan't be doing anything, yet." Fetching out all three orbs, they rotated around her body as she chanted a silent spell. In a flash, a small group of people they'd seen working in the hills appeared in front of them. "Earth, fire and water mages, all from Hyrule. And now, I have full control over them, as long as the orbs remain lit."

Pausing for a second, she admired her hard work paying off. Then, it began.

"Kill them!"

The powerless Hylians were forced to use a barrage of spells as soon as she gave the word. Fire blasts, tidal waves and rockslides exploded in the centre of the lake which had now become a battlefield.

"Kill the Hero of Time and Forest Sage! When we are done here, we will invade Meldora which is currently defenceless without the protection of magic!" Pointing a single finger towards the nearest Hylians, she commanded them to keep attacking, to use every spell. they knew..

Not being able to stand up to the immense pull of the orbs, they did as they were instructed.

Noticing the only locked pendant floating in the air behind Coral, Saria disappeared in a flash of green light, reappearing right under it. Quickly snatching the thing with one hand, she shoved it into her pocket while the empress continued to talk about her beloved plans. Summoning Nayru's Love, she narrowly avoided being struck by a massive rock that suddenly fell from above without warning.

Sheathing his sword, Link just stood there taking any attacks they threw at him. He refused to try and defend himself, he wasn't going to take any more brainwashed lives. At least they weren't attacking at full force, it was as if they were trying to resist the orbs' influence.

"Telling the king to get rid of magic from this kingdom was the best thing I ever did." Coral narrowed her eyes when she saw her little army resisting. Waving a hand in the direction of the ice they were standing on, she nodded when it disappeared from beneath and half of them tumbled into the water. Waving her hand again, the sheet of ice reappeared over the top, trapping the unlucky victims.

"You witch!" Saria sent a random spell at Coral who was caught off guard. Deflecting the magic, the empress span around to see the last pendant missing.

"Return the pendant to me," reabsorbing the orbs, Coral warped the Hylians away since they obviously needed to be weakened more.

"I don't think so," Saria stood her ground.

"You don't?" Coral wasn't surprised, the girl wouldn't have taken it if she was going to give it back without a fight. "In that case…" the empress turned to Link who was running over from the other side of the lake. Using the same technique she'd used on one of her captives, she flicked the spell at Link who instantly fell to his knees.

A burning sensation tore through his entire body begging him to give in and fall, but he wouldn't let it control him. Pushing against the force, Link dragged himself across the lake, the more he fought, the more it ripped at his insides.

Turning her attention back to Saria, Coral smirked at her crushed expression seeing Link in so much pain.

"Just give me the pendant and I'll stop torturing him,"

"Don't do it!" Link clutched at his chest. "I can take it!" he collapsed face-first onto the ice.

Taking the pendant out, Saria knew Link was in agony, she wouldn't' let him suffer any longer.

"No!" he continued to shout.

"If you don't hand it over, I'll be forced to do this!" Coral tried to take control of Saria but the spell bounced off the girl knocking the woman back. "That spell was designed to torture Hylians…I forgot you aren't one .If magic won't work then I'll have to use brute force. Crush her!"

On the empress' word, a giant frozen hand burst out of the ice and wrapped itself tightly around Saria. Slamming her into the barrier, it began squeezing the life from her.

"Not long now," Coral watched her struggling. "It will feel good to pry the pendant from your cold, dead hands."

"Let her go!"

She turned her head to see a blinding flash of golden light aimed towards her. Somehow the boy had broken free of her curse and was aiming some kind of arrow of light.

Link pulled the bow back as far as he could, his hand was trembling like crazy from the spell but he wouldn't stop. He didn't want to add another name to his human kill list, even if this one did truly deserver it.

"Do your worst," Coral remained in her position, arms folded waiting for him to strike.

Firing the arrow, Link watched it soar right for Coral, until she disappeared and it crashed into the ground in an explosion of light.

Reappearing behind him she sent her hand into his back sending wave upon wave of pain through his body.

"If you want her to live, you won't resist."

Looking over at Saria, Link could see her eyes were closed, he doubted she could last much longer but there had to be a way out of this…

"Both of you are the other's strength and yet at the same time, the other's weakness. How… touching. Shame it won't be going any further." Gaining complete control, she flung him into the air before sending him smashing through the layer of ice into the freezing water. "Don't forget to breathe."

Was the last thing he heard as the layer of ice closed in over him.

While this was going on, the hand loosened its grip on Saria letting her drop to the floor. Barely able to keep her eyes open, she saw Link go crashing through the ice before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Nori we have to do something!" Madi pressed a hand against the barrier.

"Yeah, but what?" he watched Coral walking towards Saria, the scene appeared to move in slow motion to him.

"Look!" Madi pointed at Saria's wrist.

The flowers on her bracelet started glowing a rainbow of colours. Twisting off her arm, the colours engulfed everything around them until time itself came to a stop.

"Psst, wake up!" an unfamiliar voice whispered to Saria. "Come on, quit lazing around and get up!"

"I'm not doing this on purpose," she mumbled, Trying to move, all she could feel was a stabbing pain in her chest from where the hand had crushed her. Managing to open her eyes, she looked around to see a blurry vision of Coral moving towards her, but she wasn't moving… The whole scene was suspended in time. Remembering what had happened to Link, she quickly sat up.

"It's ok, time has stopped so he's been under there less than a minute," the voice explained. "Nayru placed a single-use time spell on the bracelet, I figured now was a good time to reveal myself."

Turning in the direction of the voice, she came to face-to-face with a Kokiri boy, or the spirit of one. He wore the standard Kokiri tunic with green boots, the only difference was his hat was missing, leaving a mass of unruly green hair fully visible. Staring at her through soft blue eyes, he couldn't help laugh at the girl's baffled expression.

"Who're you?" she finally asked.

"You don't know me, Saria? I'm hurt." putting his hands behind his head, he grinned. "I thought you of all people would know of past Kokiri leaders."

"Neirol?" Saria blinked.

"Yeah! At least you know my name," hovering in front of her, he looked her up and down. "You make a pretty good Sage, I think Aeffia would've been proud to have you take her place…"

"I'm sorry about what happened," Saria noticed the change in his tone when he talked about her.

"You know, the bracelet was the last thing I found that belonged to her. I stumbled across it when walking through the Lost Woods after she disappeared. Aeffia always loved making these… In the end, my spirit became fused with it and I suppose Nayru thought I could be of use to you." Holding out his hand, a short sword suddenly appeared in it. The hit was made from rare, dark green wood found deep within the Lost Woods, while the blade itself was a bright emerald colour unlike any sword Saria had seen before, not that she'd seen many. "Aeffia hated swords so I told her I'd make a special one for her, but since I never got the chance to give it to her, you take it. I doubt she'd mind."

"But I can't use a sword," Saria eyed the weapon, she'd probably end up taking someone's eye out with it.

"It's magical. I designed it only to harm evil," Neirol shoved the weapon into her hand. "Go on, touch the blade."

Saria looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Touch it!"

Running a finger lightly along the blade, she was surprised to find it didn't hurt a bit.

"See? I told you," Neirol stuck his tongue out at her. Taking a look at Coral, he gulped when she slowly started walking once more. "Looks like the spell is wearing off. I'll be in the bracelet until we get back to the forest. Until then, good luck Saria." Fading back into the flowers, Neirol disappeared and time returned to normal.

"Your life ends now!" Coral shot a spell at Saria.

Flinging the sword in front of herself, Saria blocked the attack. A mixture of emotions boiled inside her as the woman kept firing spell after spell that the sword easily blocked. This person made her feel something she hadn't felt since the days of Ganondorf, this woman made her feel pure hatred. She hated her for what she'd done to this kingdom, for what she'd done to those poor Hylians and most importantly, for what she was doing right now to Link. Holding out the sword, Saria said something she'd never said out loud to anyone before.

"I hate you."

A powerful burst of magic shot from her sword right at Coral who countered it with the three orbs,. Fire, water and earth magic pushed back against Saria's, neither wiling to give in.

Beneath the water, Link's air was quickly running out. The temperature of the water was making him feel dizzy and he couldn't hold his breath much longer. Squinting into the darkness, he saw bodies floating around below him, the bodies of Coral's latest victims most likely. He desperately needed to find a way to break the ice, he had to have a weapon that could help. Starting to feel numb from the freezing water, he took out his newest weapon. Looking inside the Gust Jar, he noticed how he could breathe when he put his head far enough inside it and no water could get in. Taking a deep breath, he took his head out and positioned the jar beneath himself. Giving it a push down, he found it sent him upwards at a great force. This gave him an idea, if only he could pull it off.

Up above, Saria wouldn't budge as the three elements pushed against her magic. Being fuelled purely by hatred, she continued to push back towards Coral who couldn't believe her eyes, she'd known the girl was powerful but not to this extent.

Suddenly, the sound of ice breaking where Link had fallen sounded until the boy smashed through the ice. Holding the Gust Jar beneath him, Link was relieved his idea of swimming to the bottom and pushing himself all the way up had worked.

"Link!" Sara felt a wave of happiness wash over her when she saw him.

"Watch out!" he yelled as Saria's magic weakened. Taking out his bow, he charged another Light Arrow, but before shooting, he placed two more in the bow. When all three were lit, he sent them soaring into the forest magic giving it an immense boost of power, so much that it tore through Coral's defences and exploded into her body.

The three orbs immediately blew up as the woman screamed from the shock of the blast. Tearing through her body, the combined energy of forest and light magic overpowered her, and in less than a second, she collapsed onto the ground. Her lifeless body turned into a frozen statue, just like the hundreds of victims she'd taken the lives of. But instead of simply slipping beneath the ice, her entire body exploded sending both Link and Saria flying backwards.

Sitting up, Saria screamed when she saw a cloud of purple mist take off into the sky heading in the direction of Soli City. The empress' body may have been destroyed, but the fight for the kingdom wasn't over yet.


	21. Reunion

_He was surrounded by darkness. Squinting around him, he could see images of lifeless bodies sinking deeper into the murky depths of the lake. Their faces showed expressions of terror while their frozen hands reached upwards as if they'd been trying to push at something before the freezing temperature had taken their lives. Looking up, he saw the thick sheet of ice blocking out the light and his only way to safety. Searching through his items, he decided to try the Gust Jar but instead of pulling out the jar, the head of the old man appeared in his hand. Streams of dark blood trickled down his face from the gaping hole in the centre of the his skull._

_Screaming from the shock, Link dropped the head to hear the same word echoed over and over._

"_Murderer!"_

"No!" Link awoke suddenly from his nightmare. Wiping the beads of cold sweat from his face, he glanced around to find he wasn't out on the lake any more. Feeling a lot warmer than he had been, he looked down to find a large blanket wrapped around him and a small, crackling fire to the side.

Rubbing his head, he figured he was in some sort of cave by the looks of the stone walls surrounding him. Pushing the blankets off, he slowly made his way to the cave exit where voices could be heard outside. The last thing he remembered was being thrown back by a giant explosion and hearing Saria scream. Looking outside he couldn't see her anywhere, the only people visible were a group of Hylians talking not too far from him.

"The barrier has gone thanks to you and your friends. The empress has finally been destroyed," a voice said to something in the centre of the group.

"Oh, that wasn't down to me, Link and Saria did all the work!" Madi's voice exclaimed.

"But if she has been destroyed, why was the girl insisting she's still alive?" another voice entered the conversation.

Walking over to the group, Link stood behind them until a young girl wrapped in a cloak noticed him.

"Thank you for saving us," she bowed and shuffled away into the crowd.

He gave her a weak smile, not being able to believe that Coral had little kids captured as well. Turning back to the conversation, he wondered what they meant about Saria insisting Coral still existed. He must have missed something when he'd passed out.

"Madi where's Saria?" he asked over the talking.

"And then the orbs blew up!" the fairy giggled at the memory.

"Madi-"

"Oh and did I mention the empress' body went boom!" she continued to enjoy all the attention she was getting from the amazed Hylians.

"Madi!" Link snapped.

"What?" she asked, totally oblivious to his previous question.

"Where is Saria!"

"No need to yell Link, she's in the cave over there. All you had to do was ask, sheesh." Madi pointed towards one of the caves opposite his.

"Why was- Never mind," Link muttered, he wasn't going to get much else out of Madi when she was in full 'chatting mode'. Leaving the fairy alone with her new fans, he stomped off in the direction of the other cave.

Peering inside, he saw Saria fast asleep under similar blankets to his while Nori sat quietly at her side.

"As loyal as ever," Link grinned at the startled fairy. "Did you see Princess Madi out there? Lapping up all the attention."

Nori nodded. "She just likes to have someone to talk to, doesn't matter who, as long as they act at least a tiny bit interested." Turning back to Saria, he sat staring at her. "They had to give her a sleeping potion since she wouldn't stop rambling on about Coral going to the city. Something strange did happen when the body froze though, like her soul managed to escape."

"Then we'll go to the city when Saria wakes up," kneeling down next to Nori, Link caught sight of Saria's new sword laying on the floor. Picking it up, he admired the fine details on the hilt. "Where did she get this?"

"I have no idea, it was with her when they brought us here," Nori shrugged. "Looks like Kokiri work if you ask me, she was using it in that last battle, remember?"

"Oh, so that's where that immense burst of energy came from…" Hearing loud laughter coming from outside, he went to see what the joke was.

"I know! I can't believe Link walked in on Saria in the hot springs!" Madi didn't know when to quit.

"Argh!" Link slapped his forehead. "She's never going to forget that."

* * *

A few hours later, Link, Saria and the fairies sat by a fire in the cave eating the fish Ruto ha given Link for his Birthday. Saria had just finished telling them about Neirol and the bracelet, which everyone, including Madi, had listened intently to.

"Ruto did say she wanted to eat them with me, but it's like she's here anyway," Link smirked holding up a piece of fish.

"Link! That's an awful thing to say," Saria frowned but couldn't hold it for long since she had to admit, it was funny. "It does make me wonder though, if Zoras eat fish and Gorons eat rocks, do they eat each other?"

"I don't think it works like that," Link said with his mouth full. "I've never had the nerve to ask." He could picture it now, him asking Darunia if he ate other Gorons, the Fire Sage would laugh heartily then punch him in the face. He didn't want to begin thinking of what Ruto or King Zora would do to him.

"So, apart from idle gossip, did you find out anything about these captured Hylians?" Nori asked an unusually silent Madi.

"Hmm? Oh yeah! Empress Coral made them mine for Ebelons to sell to the rest of Meldora. The Drazzilbs used to do that, but she forced them underground and replaced them with her Hylian slaves. She said they were the strongest since they managed to enter the kingdom, so I guess she planned to control them and use their magic to take over when Meldora was at its weakest. With the majority of the army in Hyrule, I can see how it was a good plan."

"Yeah but I bet she wasn't banking on most of the orbs being destroyed. She doesn't have anything left to work with," Link took another bite of fish.

"She has the final key," Saria's tone was serious. "You saw what she did with Donavon, and if what Celest said is true about her father not being as hostile as he is now then it's obvious what's been happening. Coral has been using the key to possess the king causing him to do strange things."

"At least we know Taj isn't on her side," Link thought about the mysterious Sheikah boy, if he wasn't working with Coral, then what was he doing? He had been helpful more than once during their journey, even if he did make fun of their sandcastle. "All we need now is a way off this continent, did they tell you how they got here Madi?"

"Um, a big ship I think. They said something about being coaxed onto one then arriving here. The ship could still be on the coast." Madi recalled her conversations. "See? I'm not totally useless," she stuck her tongue out at Nori who rolled his eyes.

Soon enough, they were walking along the wind-swept coast of Ebelon searching for any signs of the ship.

"I don't see anything," Saria wrapped her arms around herself as she peered through the flurries of snow whirling in front of them. Catching a glimpse of a large mound of snow, she wandered over to take a closer look.

"What're you looking at?" Link followed her. He hadn't seen many ships before but knew they weren't giant mounds of snow.

"Do you think it's under this?" she looked down the coast, there wasn't anything else as big.

"I guess we can find out," Link prepared to use Din's Fire but found his magic wasn't working again.

"Don't burn it!" Madi's voice shouted behind them.

Turning around, they were greeted by the gold fairy leading the Hylians who were each carrying shovels.

"Nice one, you used your big mouth to round them up," Link grinned when she landed on his hat.

"How about you shut yours and go help?" Madi pointed to some spare shovels on the floor. "I'll sit here and supervise."

After a few minutes of digging and Madi constantly yelling to stop slacking, they uncovered the missing ship. It was like nothing |Link had ever seen before. The whole thing was made entirely of ice and looked as if it could easily carry one hundred or so passengers. Three tall masts stood spread out in a line along the frozen deck, their sails appeared to be made out of a sparkling liquid that glistened when they caught the breeze.

"Wow, that's a ship?" Saria gawked at the magnificent vessel.

"This has to be magic," Link moved closer and jumped on deck. Gaining his balance on the slippery floor, he got a shock when something slapped him over the head. Spinning around, he came face-to-face with a cloud wearing a patch on one side of its front.

"And what do ye think you is doin' on me ship?" it asked in an angry manner.

"Sorry, we thought this was the ship that brought these people here," Link replied while wondering how the thing had managed to hit him with no hands.

"Aye, 'twas me who brought 'em 'ere. Empress Coral gave me lots o' treasure for the effort."

"Oh, so you're helping her," Link sighed.

"I ain't on anyone's side! I only helps those who gives me a lot o' payment." Floating over to the side, the cloud examined the group. "There be quite a lot of you but I think you'll all fit."

Taking out the last of the Ebelons, Link threw them on the deck. "This is all we have, you can have the rest when we get back to the mainland," he didn't have any idea of how they could get more Ebelons but he'd work it out when they got there.

"Hmm, alright, ye can all come aboard. Name's Smog by the way, Captain Smog," Smog drifted around the deck checking things were in order.

"Smog? Wouldn't Fog or Cloud make more sense?" Link suddenly found himself wishing he hadn't asked.

"More sense? How dare ye questions the almighty Smog! For that, you can scrub the decks two hundred times!" a cloud-shaped hand materialised in the air and smacked Link over the head. Shoving a dirty rag in his hand, it pushed him onto the floor.

"But it's clean," Link pointed out.

"Not clean enough!" Smog spat on the floor. "See there? Somebody just spat!" Turning to face the others, Smog almost exploded when he saw Saria trying not to laugh. "I don' know what you're laughing at Chuckles, you'll be helpin' too!" Another rag flew through the air and smacked her in the face. "I can't be doin' with happy people, they make me so sad! A depressed, hardworking crew it what I likes."

"Man, this guy is cracked," Madi hissed to the Hylians as Smog surveyed them as they boarded.

"You!" the cloud shouted at random people. "I'm not likin' the way you're dressed, go clean the decks as well! And you over there! Oh and definitely you! I don't like how you're starin' at me!"

It wasn't long before everyone on the ship had been insulted and sent to do one chore or another. Leaning on one side of the boat, Link stared silently into the water. The longer he looked, the sicker he felt. He knew it couldn't be seasickness since the ship wasn't even moving on the water, it was magically gliding above and he could barely feel the movement.

"Not much of a view," Saria joined him. She could see something was wrong but didn't want to pry, he'd tell her when he was ready.

"Now, about me payment," Smog said behind them. "If ye don't have any more Ebelons, we can make some other….arrangements," he moved closer to Saria and winked. "If ya know what I mean?"

Link was about to smack the captain in the face but got beaten to it by Saria herself. He grinned as he watched the cloud using a hand to rub its patch, Saria was a lot more independent than she had been back in the market on those first few nights she was out of the forest.

"There won't be any other 'arrangements', you'll get your Ebelons," Link reassured the upset Smog. "Just get us back to Soli."

"Fine, fine, but get back to work ya lazy slackers!"

* * *

Standing on the beach, Taj scanned the morning horizon for any signs of life. He hoped they'd be back soon, then he'd be able to take the lot and get that final key. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Dwarf fiddling with the blue box, not like that thing would ever work. Turning his attention back to the sea, he smirked when a ship hovered into view. As soon as it arrived on the sand, he rounded in on it.

"There you are," he greeted them as they got off the ship with the sounds of Smog complaining in the background.

"Yeah, here we are," Link mumbled then thought of something to distract him. "Hey Captain, this guy will settle our payments, he's filthy rich!"

"Wha! No I'm not! Come back here!" the flustered Sheikah yelled as Link and Saria disappeared up the cliff.

"That'll keep him busy for a few minutes," Link glanced down at the ship where Taj was trying to escape the yelling Smog and the Hylians had all started making their way back to Hyrule.

"I think Taj is the least of our problems," Saria pointed to the castle where a thick purple mist was surrounding it.

Suddenly, the king's face appeared on all of the solar panels in the city. The screen showed him sat in the throne room, his eyes were emotionless as he spoke to the people.

"People of Meldora, I have an announcement to make!" his voice wasn't even his own any more. "From this day forward, anyone who does not possess magical abilities shall be killed!" The screen zoomed out to reveal the three black wolfos snarling angrily. With a wave of his hand, the beasts grew to twice their sizes and were cut free of their chains. "Also, let it be known that if anyone should resist, then my dear daughter will be tortured in your place," the screen twisted to a shot of Celest still in her nightdress tied up in the corner of the room. "Thank you, that will be all," his eyes flashed a deep violet before the screens switched off.

"He couldn't do that to his own daughter!" Nori was disgusted at the man's actions.

"It's not him, it's Coral," Saria explained. "I told you she'd use the key to take full control of him."

Screams of terror rang out around the city as the wolfos trio burst through the palace doors and ran into the crowds, tearing apart anyone who couldn't defend themselves.

"There are three of us and three of them, doesn't take a genius to work out what we should do," Taj's voice came from behind. He smiled at their startled expressions. "What? I told Smog I'd get some Ebelons, he doesn't need to know I was lying, does he?"

"Right," Link frowned, Taj had a way to get out of everything. "We'll split up and take them out faster. If you need anything just contact me," he said more to Saria than the Sheikah.

"I'll be fine, what can one wolfos do?" Saria grinned before taking off to the left side of the city. Link chose the centre while Taj was left with the right.

"I don't like this," Nori whispered in Saria's ear as she ran down a series of backstreets. "I doubt they're normal wolfos so you won't be able to tame them." he stopped talking when a large crowd of people dashed past, all screaming to get away from the monster.

"I'm guessing it's not far from here," Saria carried on moving towards the noise of a snarling animal. She was just about to turn a corner when an arrow flew overhead narrowly missing her hair.

"Whoops," a familiar voice chuckled followed by the sound of flapping wings. "Hey Forest Girl, did ya miss me?" Rika waved from atop Perri.

"Rika? What're you doing here?" Saria blinked, she hadn't been expecting to see her again.

Bringing Perri to a stop, Rika slipped off the ecstatic bird who couldn't wait to peck Saria's nose.

"Well, Taru wanted to go to the library so I said I'd come with him. When we got here, we ran into this totally cute guy called Travis who introduced us to these awesome birds and said one was yours. I told him I knew you so he said I could take a turn on Perri, and then all this started up! I figured you and Linky-boy would be in the midst of it and of course, I was right! Oh and by the way, I won my contest!"

"As great as that is, now's not the time to celebrate…" Saria became anxious when she couldn't hear the snarling any more.

"You're right. Let's fly up and get a better view," Rika motioned for the Kokiri to hop on before her since Perri did belong to her now.

Flying into the air, they saw Travis on Feril who hadn't been too far behind Rika.

"'Ello girls," he shot a smile at Rika who blushed. "As much as I love ya Saria, Rika has to be cutie number one now, you get to be two of course, and Link, well poor Link ain't on my scale any longer."

"I'm devastated," Saria mumbled sarcastically. Browsing the streets below, she spotted the wolfos running towards one of the main shopping locations. "Come on, let's go Perri," she ran her hand up his neck and he shot off in the direction of the woflos with a surprised Rika screaming to slow down. "What is that building over there?" Saria pointed to an old building at the end of the street.

"The library, why?" Rika caught her breath after the shock.

"Oh dear, the wolfos just went inside…."

"What!" Rika screamed. "My brother is in there!"

Inside the building, hundreds of shelves lined with a variety of books filled the huge room. Behind a tall shelf, a small boy clambered onto a stool and peered through a gap in between the books to see a huge wolfos prowling the fiction section. Slamming the books together, Taru slid down to the floor, he didn't know how he would get out of here alive. Looking sideways at the stool, he had an idea.

Climbing back onto it, he reached as far as he could and pulled himself to the top of the shelves. Sliding along the top, he saw the woflos sniffing around the other end of the room. All he had to do now was jump across the shelves to the entrance.

"Taru!" Rika shouted as she entered the library.

Hearing the sounds, the wolfos span around and ran straight for the girl.

"Rika, look out!" Taru knelt down to grab one of the books. Throwing it at the woflos, he managed to catch its attention but gulped when it began running towards the bookcase he was standing on.

When it slammed its giant head into the case, the young boy tumbled off right onto the beast's back

"Aaaah! Help me!" Taru held on for his life as the woflos thrashed about trying to chuck him off.

Taking out her bow, Rika swiftly placed an arrow in and shot, but it was no good. Trying again, she missed once more, the woflos was too fast for her.

"This is ridiculous! I never miss!" she fumed.

Catching up with Rika, Saria gasped at the scene.

"Tsk tsk, books all over the floor, remind you of anywhere?" Nori couldn't help it.

Watching the furious Rika continuing to shoot at the wolfos, she wasn't surprised when the animal turned and ran at her for a second time.

"I know I'll regret this but there's no other option," Saria shoved Rika out of the way just as the wolfos lunged for her. Instead it sent Saria smacking into the nearest wall where it could easily attack.

"No you don't!" Rika jumped up and shot another arrow which slowed the thing down.

Building up her energy, Saria sent a wave of magic at the woflos causing it to go crashing backwards into the bookcases. Stumbling to her feet, she cautiously moved towards it.

"It's still breathing," Nori hovered over the unconscious animal.

"Can't you do that thing you did to the other wolfos? You know, the telepathic thing?" Rika asked while helping her brother off the floor.

"It's not from a forest, so it won't work," Saria stared at it, she knew it had to be destroyed or it would just go on hurting more innocent people, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. Even if she'd wanted to, she couldn't think how. Then she remembered what Neirol had said about the sword.

"_It's magical. I designed it only to harm evil," _

If this wolfos truly was evil, the blade would kill it. If it wasn't, then the blade wouldn't harm it. Deciding it was her best choice, she reached for the blade she hadn't touched since the showdown with Coral. Shakily holding it near the wolfos, she closed her eyes and without another thought, stabbed it as hard as she could into the animal's body.

There wasn't a single sound. Opening her eyes, she stared in wonder as the wolfos started to fade away like it had never existed.

"So they're magical," she sighed with relief. "We should tidy up before leaving."

* * *

Pushing through the crowds, Link caught up with the growling wolfos who was guarding the palace entrance. A circle of guards were trying to overpower the animal, but nothing was working.

_Link, the woflos are made from magic! _Saria's voice entered his head.

"Magic huh? That makes me feel less guilty about having to tear it apart," he threw a deku nut to get the animal's attention away from the guards. Sidestepping out of the way when it charged at him, he reached behind and grabbed its tail.

The guards watched in awe as the boy span the wolfos around by its tail, sending it crashing into the side of a building. Unsheathing his sword, he sent the blade in a downwards motion into the motionless wolfos causing it to fade out of sight.

"I wasn't expecting it to be that easy," Link sheathed his sword. Looking down the street, he saw Taj walking towards him with his sword out at his side. It was the first time Link had gotten a proper look at the Sheikah's sword. The three gems on the hilt fascinated the Hylian, especially the one in the middle which had a crescent moon shape flashing in the centre.

"Didn't take much to get rid of mine," Taj sheathed the sword. "A lot of lives were lost though."

"Yeah… Where'd you get that sword?" Link's curiosity pushed him to ask.

"That's none of your business," Taj suddenly became defensive.

"Fine, just thought I'd make conversation," Link crossed his arms. "You seem to know too much about me and Saria but we know hardly anything about you."

"If- if you're meant to, you will eventually," he saved himself before giving anything away.

"Hey! Link!" Taru shouted from his spot on Perri.

"It was lucky I was there, the wolfos would've eaten my brother and Saria if I hadn't been. Well, ok, Saria did help too but I could handle it," Rika sat behind Travis on Feril filling him in on her warped version of events.

"I'm sure ya did a great job," Travis laughed. He had a feeling she was exaggerating but found it cute.

"What are you doing here?" Link asked, his question directed at Rika and Taru.

"We're here to help, duh!" Rika did a thumbs up sign at him.

"No offence, but unless you can defend yourselves, you'll just get in the way, And do you even know what we're doing here?" Link didn't want them going through any more pain than they already had.

"Um, no," Rika shrugged "But it was me who shot that big blue monster back in the valley! You'd most probably be dead if it wasn't for me."

Link was utterly speechless.

_Is it possible _Rika_ developed an even bigger ego in the last few weeks? _He mentally spoke to Saria who shot him a smirk from Perri's back.

"Stop staring googly-eyed at each other and let's get moving!" Rika took out her bow and handed it to Taru.

"If Taru has your bow, what will you use?" Link still didn't want them following but he didn't have much of a choice.

"My bare fists!" Rika punched the air. "I've been teaching Taru how to use the bow so my hands are free!" Running towards the palace door, she sent a fist directly into the wood opening the way to Coral. "I knew that would work," she wiped her hands together in satisfaction.

"It was probably already open," Taj mumbled.

"You're just jealous," Rika grinned at the boy. "Who are you anyway?"

"Taj," Taj gave a blunt reply leaving Rika to stare blankly after him.

The entrance hall was shrouded in darkness. Pieces of human bodies were scattered along the bloodstained carpet as they moved closer to the throne room. In front of the door, another group of guards stood blocking them from going any further.

"His Majesty has requested to be left alone," one guard spoke.

"Give me a break," Link unsheathed his sword. "You're defending someone who's going to kill you soon enough."

"Psst, we'll distract these guys while you and Saria go into the throne room," Rika whispered to Link.

"If you insist," Link handed her a bomb bag. "These should be of some help."

Taking one out of the bag, the girl gasped when it started sizzling, Tossing it at the guards, she smirked when they split up and started attacking them. Soon the whole room was filled with explosions and flustered guards.

"Come on!" Link ran through the throne room door with Saria and an uninvited Taj in tow, leaving Rika, Taru and Travis to tackle the guards.

The moment they entered the throne room, Taj saw the king asleep on the throne, the key still around his neck. Pushing past the other two, he sprinted towards the sleeping man, the key only inches away from his grasp. Just as he was about to snatch the key, the king's eyes snapped open.

"Mmmmm mmm mmmm!" Celest screamed from the corner of the room, her mouth gagged.

"Hello again," the king smiled at Taj. "Did you want something boy?" Looking at Taj's hand hovering over the key, the king nodded. "Ah, I see. In that case…" the man disappeared. Reappearing behind the Sheikah, he sent him crashing into the wall next to Celest. "Next." he turned to glare at Link and Saria.

"We know it's you Coral. You lost the orbs so now you're clinging onto the last thread of hope you have," Link watched 'the king' floating silently above the throne.

"You're correct. Such a shame you won't be here to stop me."

The floor beneath suddenly gave way sending them both falling into the depths of the dungeons.

"Now to take care of their friends," Coral was about to take the king's body to the entrance hall when the whole palace started to shake violently. Landing on the carpet in front of the throne, she looked everywhere but couldn't see anything unusual; until a huge snake smashed through the floor, the spirit of Eskena sat on top of the head.

Celest watched in horror as Eskena ordered the snake to attack Coral. If they carried on like this, the entire castle would be destroyed along with everyone inside. Wriggling over to an unconscious Taj, she threw herself on top of him in an attempt to wake him up.

Feeling something banging his arm, Taj slowly opened his eyes to find Celest hitting it. Hearing the commotion on the other side of the room, his eyes widened when he saw the king and Eskena attacking each other in the air. Turning back to Celest, he got working on untying the ropes.

* * *

"Wow, this place is dark!" Madi squeaked.

They'd fallen into an underground labyrinth hidden below the castle. Only the vilest criminals were chucked into the endless maze to be forever lost in darkness.

"I wonder what she could be doing," Saria commented on the violent rumbling. She couldn't even see the hole they'd come through any more.

"I don't know, we just need to get out of here," Link squinted around the room they were in.

Before they had a chance to do anything else, high-pitched laughter echoed throughout the labyrinth. Feeling a presence behind him, Link twisted around to see nothing. Feeling it behind him again, he turned the other way but still nothing.

"Do you feel something?" he asked Saria.

"No…" she looked over her shoulder to see a stone wall in the darkness. Feeling something tapping her arm, she turned around and screamed when she saw who it was.

"Hahaha, scared you!" Carculous laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Link growled, his hand reaching for his sword.

"Now now, let's play nice," Carculous flew over to the scowling boy. "I had more than enough fun with you two last time. Besides, I'm in spirit form so you can't use normal weapons on me. I was down here searching for the treasure passed down through our family, it's the only thing that can completely destroy Coral and I finally found it! But there's only one problem, since you turned my physical form to dust, I can't hold it. Only a member of my bloodline can use the treasure so…I need to possess a vessel," he shot them a cheery smile.

"No way!" Link moved in front of Saria and pointed his sword at the catacomb lord. "You're not using either of us!"

"Calm down, even if I wanted to I couldn't use you. It needs to be a Meldoran, preferably someone of high class."

Just as Carculous said this, Celest came tumbling down into the room. Brushing her nightdress free of dust, she screamed when she saw a hovering spirit smiling at her.

"You'll be perfect, princess!" Not waiting for a response, he floated into her body and overtook her senses. "It's been a while since I possessed a girl," he spoke using his new temporary body. "Feels kinda' nice."

"What did you do with Celest?" Saria hoped the girl wasn't gone for good.

"Don't worry about her, she'll wake up when I'm done with her body," Sweeping past them, he ran into the maze of passages beckoning for them to follow.

Running this way and that, Carculous' pace became quicker at every turning. Coming to a halt near a blank wall, he pulled out a number of different rocks until he found the correct one. A golden door appeared on the wall ready for them to enter.

Inside, the room was covered in gold. Hundreds of chests littered the floor while piles of Ebelons were stacked in every corner. In the centre of the room, an enormous golden staff stood amongst another pile of Ebelons. The top of the staff was shaped like the sun shown on the main exterior of the castle and various places within.

Rubbing his hands, Carculous walked towards the staff and wrapped his fingers around the long handle. Lifting it from its resting place, he twirled it above his head where a beam of blinding yellow light shot from the sun.

"At last, now we can finally put an end to this madness. Come on, before my sister destroys the castle in her rage."


	22. Downfall

Spinning the bomb bag above her head, Rika let go of the opening and watched a handful of bombs fly out over the guards. Brushing a mass of tangled blonde hair out of her face, she signalled to Taru to shoot at their faces.

"Alright! You got them all!" she jumped into the air each time he managed a direct hit. Taru wasn't as fast as her when it came to the bow, but he'd get there eventually. Her fears of him growing into a defenceless bookworm were diminishing by the day.

While the guards fended off the arrow attack, Travis stood off to the side by the entrance. The boy felt pretty useless, he was great at flying and mending things, but he'd never be able to use a bow and no one taught him to wield a sword so he had nothing to help them with. Switching his attention to the throne room door, he gulped when the room started to shake. There was a moment of silence before a gigantic snake came tearing through the wall, destroying the entire thing. Swinging its huge tail around towards the king who had crashed into the room with it, the snake sent the man hurling into another wall.

"Kill her!" Eskena's voice hissed from the throne room.

On its mistress' command, the snake lunged forward, mouth wide open ready to devour Coral's soul and the king's body. The serpent was mere inches away from Coral when she used what little strength she had left to send a blast of energy into the startled snake's mouth. Being flung back by the powerful attack, the snake collapsed onto the floor and shrivelled into a pile of sand.

"I didn't know the king of Meldora could use magic. Wait, did that snake lady refer to him as a her?" Taru asked without taking his eyes off the battle.

"I dunno an' to be honest, I don't wanna find out," Travis tapped Rika's arm. "Come on, we should get out while we can."

"Right," she nodded and grabbed Taru by the back of his shirt. "Let's go!"

"Wha? What about the others!" Taru flung his arms into the air and dropped the bow from being pulled so harshly out of the castle.

""They'll be fine, this is Link and Saria we're talking about," Rika grinned. Taking one last glance at the entrance hall, she almost choked when she saw Eskena pull a single strand of hair from her head and let it drop to the floor. The hair remained stationary for a moment before rising up and twisting into another enormous snake. "I can't even tell which one is the bad guy and which is the good one!"

* * *

"So what exactly happened between your family and the current royals?" Link asked a running Carculous who was trying to lead them out of the labyrinth. Holding the staff in front of himself, it cast a golden glow along the floor making it easier to see where they were going.

"Their ancestors tricked my parents out of their inheritance making it simple for them to move in and take over the kingdom. If my sister and I had been ruling over Meldora, none of this would have happened since our descendants wouldn't have been weak idiots! As soon as Coral interfering with the king we knew it was the best time to do something."

"But aren't you….dead?" Saria couldn't work out how dead people could run a kingdom. "And do you actually have any descendants?"

"So what if we're dead? It's the principle!" Carculous rounded a corner and accidentally whacked the tip of the staff on the ceiling. "I was never interested in kids and do you really think any man would be brave enough to go near my sister?" he chuckled to himself. "When we were forced out of the kingdom, Eskena and I retreated to the underworld where we began preparing our powers to taker the throne back someday. Of course, we both eventually passed away but our sprits will live on until justice is done."

"How could both of you have the throne?" Link remembered Zelda telling him how the monarchy in Hyrule worked, the oldest child of the king and queen would become the next ruler regardless of gender but it would be that child and only that child who would rule, not their siblings.

"It's different here. Instead of only one ruler, all of the children of the oldest ruler before them rule the kingdom, sort of like a council. So that's how we could rule together, although if we were in power now we'd need to pick a successor since being dead does have its drawbacks." Ducking down another corner, he whacked the staff against the low ceiling without realising again.

"If you wanted rid of Coral, why did you keep the pendants from us?" Link winced when the catacomb lord smacked the staff on the edge of another wall, if someone as clumsy as that could have been in charge of a kingdom then maybe it was best he never was.

"We couldn't just hand them over, we had to test you. I only wanted to play with you but Eskena insisted on going the whole way and attempting to kill you, sorry about that." Picking a route out of two passages, he led them up it.

"Well that's ok then," Link grit his teeth. He still had an urge to leap on this guy and tear him apart but he was their only hope for getting out of there, and he imagined Celest wanted her body kept in one piece.

"Here we are," Carculous stopped at a dead end. Tapping on various bricks in the wall, he opened a secret entrance that would lead them up into the dungeons then back up to the throne room. Clambering into the hole, he groaned when Celest's nightdress became caught on a jagged rock. "Can't this girl wear something appropriate for escaping a labyrinth of death?"

After scrambling through the wall, they arrived in the dungeons. Familiar chains lined the walls with rotting skeletons of unfortunate prisoners hanging from a few. Drops of filthy water dripped on their heads as they walked over small pools and bones.

"I don't remember the dungeon we were put in being this bad," Link said while sidestepping a rotten hand.

"You were put in a dungeon?" Madi asked. "Why do I always miss the best bits?"

Just as they were nearing the exit, the ceiling started to shake causing loose pieces of rubble to break off. Reaching for the door handle, Carculous screamed when he was thrown back by a strong magical force.

"She knows we're here!" he clutched the staff to his chest. "She knows that if we get to her and use this, then her time is up."

"Can't you use the staff on the barrier?" Saria asked. Stepping backwards to the side of a pool of water, she got a surprise when an icy hand reached out almost grabbing her leg. Rising out of the water, a full-sized statue appeared with a long sword made from sharpened ice.

"I can try but you'll need to keep those ice beings away from me." Turning to the barrier, he held the staff in front of himself and prepared to focus his energy into it. Each separate ray on the sun began glowing a brilliant gold from the amount of energy being poured into the staff. Tilting the rays toward the barrier, he held on tightly as a series of thin beams of light shot from the sun.

Rolling under a swing from the statue's long sword, Link leapt up and stunned the enemy with his boomerang. Taking out his sword to finish it off, he found himself slashing at thin air when the statue disappeared into the puddle only to reappear in another on the other side of the room.

"If only we could get rid of the water," Saria watched the frozen enemy moving between the puddles.

"Oh, we can!" Link rummaged through his pockets and took out the Gust Jar. Aiming it at a puddle, he smirked when the water within was sucked from the ground into the jar. Clearing all but one of the puddles, he was satisfied when the statue couldn't go anywhere else.

Forming a circle between her hands, Saria created a ring comprised of a mixture of forest and electrical sparks. Launching it at the statue, she directed the ring over its head where it slid down and wrapped around the thing's arms disabling it from using the sword. Jumping from the ring, the electricity crackled along the statue zapping its way into the ice to further weaken the enemy.

"Electric?" Nori blinked. "Since when could you use that?"

"Must be left over from when I absorbed so much of it," Saria guessed.

Slamming the staff into the barrier, Carculous smiled when the rays tore through the magic making a big enough gap for them to all fit though. Falling to his knees from exhaustion, he clutched at his chest with one hand while still gripping the staff firmly in the other.

"If only…I'd possessed…somebody stronger!" he wheezed. Carculous knew he'd have to reserve his remaining energy if he wanted to use the staff on Coral; if a simple magical barrier could cause him to almost pass out, he didn't want to think what the empress could do in person.

Slashing through the frozen enemy, Link quickly made short work of it. Turning to face Carculous, he was shocked to see him on his knees gasping for breath.

"Some great prince of Meldora you'd make," Link muttered in a sarcastic tone, he almost felt sorry for the guy.

"Argh!" Carculous leapt up and took control of Link's sword. Levitating the weapon in the air, he smacked the boy's head with the hilt. He was about to carry on when large boulders started tumbling from the ceiling. "Hurry, we have to get out before we're caved in!" he let the sword drop to the ground and dashed through the hole in the barrier.

Running up a set of stone steps, he jumped back when a string of hands shot out of the walls either side. Spinning around, he saw the boulders crashing down behind Link and Saria leaving them with only one path to take.

"I'll clear the way," Link moved in front and slashed at the hands who retreated as soon as they felt the stinging touch of the sword. Fending off any other unexpected enemies, he almost lost his footing at the top of the steps when the shaking became twice as bad.

"I'm going to spend a week in a fairy fountain when this is over," Nori dodged a pile of tiny rocks falling from above.

"With all the pretty lady Fairies, right?" Madi teased.

"We're nearly there!" Saria exclaimed remembering the staircase the guard had led her up before.

Pushing ahead, Carculous froze when a thick purple fog seeped through the final door leading to the entrance hall. Backing away, he looked behind to see the tunnel blocked with boulders.

"She's going to gas us!" he panicked. "There's no way out!"

"W-what?" Link swallowed. "What does that stuff do?"

"If we breathe in too much of it, we'll be done for and I'm unable to use the staff to clear it!"

"There must be a way to avoid it, we've gotten this far…" Link knew the Gust Jar could save one of them but it wouldn't be able to clear the fog. Before he could have a mental argument with himself, a green barrier enclosed around the group; turning his head, he saw Saria casting Nayru's Love over the three of them plus the Fairies.

"I-it's working!" Carculous breathed a sigh of relief when the fog bounced off the magical shield.

"How are you doing that?" Nori had never seen Nayru's Love used on more than one person.

"With a lot of effort, so it would be good if we hurried up," Saria smiled.

* * *

Standing in the throne room, Taj watched the ongoing battle through the giant hole Eskena had created in the wall. Neither would give in, although it was clear Eskena had the upper hand; Coral was simply biding time until her demise which wouldn't be much longer. Spotting the key still hanging from the king's neck, he knew he had to get it now if he wanted to escape with at least one of the items he needed. But how to get it? Coral had kept the king's body drifting around the room for a while so it would be impossible to reach that high.

Gripping the hilt off his sword, he held it tightly at his side; ever since he'd found it in Kakariko he'd sensed the blade had great magical qualities but had never been able to bring out its full potential. However, there was one skill he had managed to perfect over the years, he didn't know if could use it right then since he'd never practised on any living objects but he'd give it a try,

"Glad I'm not Hylian," he mumbled to himself. Sheikahs have far greater magical abilities than the average Hylian, even if the only known Sheikah in Hyrule is Impa; take away her Sage energy and she still has powers to rival a Kokiri who were well-known to scholars and the royals for being the most magically talented race in the kingdom.

Leaping through the gaping hole, he waited for Eskena to corner Coral then held the sword vertically in front of himself. Taking out a handful of throwing stars, he thrust the sword straight into the air and began focusing his energy into the blade. After a few seconds, the gem on the left of the hilt starting glowing a dark purple. Keeping his back to the wall, he kept on eye on the fight while the rest of his attention focused on lighting the next gem.

Sending another of Eskena's snakes to a sandy death, Coral caught a glimpse of Taj powering up his sword as the second gem on the right lit. She wasn't sure what the blade was actually capable of, but she sensed the two lit gems in the hilt wouldn't be good for her. Ignoring Eskena and her newest snake, the empress flew over to the Sheikah and was about to attack when the final gem on the sword became the same deep purple as the other two.

The blade started flashing a variety of different purples as Taj took the stars and threw them above his head. Instantly, they were pulled into the blade literally merging with the weapon. Back flipping out of Coral's reach, he pointed the sword at her and a series of burning, violet throwing stars shot out of the blade. Circling the king's body, they sped around it before closing in and exploding into a shower of Taj's energy. Letting the smoke clear, the Sheikah was more than satisfied with the results; the king was now pinned in place against the wall, each star neatly holding him up. Rushing forward, the boy yanked at the chain holding the key in place and broke it free. The cold metal burned in his grasp but he didn't care - he finally had one of the items he needed and nothing would take it from him.

Moving away so Eskena could continue taking out her anger with yet another snake, the boy slipped out of the main entrance to await the time when the others would get out of the castle.

"I'll finish you now," Eskena ordered the snake to attack Coral once more.

The empress could barely breathe any longer, the key had been the object keeping her soul inside the king's body, without it she'd have a difficult task keeping herself alive. Then she realised something, the king had already been a frail old man, the amount of energy she had poured into his body must have been too much for him to take, it was another reason why she felt so faint. The king was dying, and so was she.

"Eskena! Let me," Carculous shouted using Celest's voice, his eyes flashed a bright yellow to let her know who it was.

"Took you long enough," Eskena turned to see her brother possessing the princess's body along with those kids next to him. "Get on with it before I take over that girl and do it myself."

"Give me a chance," Carculous raised the staff into the air then collapsed to the floor from exhaustion. Pushing himself to his knees, he was about to pass out when he felt a hand on other side tugging him up.

"You can't give up now, look how far we've come," Saria smiled down at him. Even after what he did to this girl she was still willing to help him.

"Yeah, Eskena said she's more powerful than you. Do you want her to be proved right?" Link held his other arm.

"S-she what!" Carculous leapt up and pointed the staff at Eskena. "You should have some respect for your elders, little sister!" Swinging the staff over his head, he started twisting it around until the relic became a golden blur. An array of bright sparks shot out of the immense amount of energy building in the centre of the staff causing both Link and Saria to duck out of the way.

Realising she wouldn't survive this, Coral held her hands in a defensive position and began chanting a teleportation spell. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get too far.

"Going somewhere?" Link had dashed across the room. "Sorry Your Majesty but I've been wanting to do this since the day we met," he grinned, sending a fist directly into the back of the king's head.

Breaking her concentration, Coral's vision doubled as a searing pain burned through her head. Forcing herself not to completely stumble over, she winced when thick vines wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles and lifted her into the air.

"You simply must 'hang around' for the grand finale," Saria had to admit, she loved being a Sage.

Suddenly the room became engulfed in a golden hue signalling that the staff was ready to be used. Making sure to get out of the way, Link squinted through the blinding light to see Carculous stop spinning the staff and point it toward the hanging Coral. Throwing it like a spear across the room, the scene appeared to move in slow motion for the boy as the rays of the sun burst into streams of light. Impaling itself in the king's chest, the staff sent waves of intense energy tearing through to Coral's soul.

Screams of the king deafened everyone in the room followed by screams of Coral herself, the souls had finally separated but now both were in agony.

"Uh-oh…" Carculous lay Celest on the floor then broke free of her body. Hovering in the air cross-legged, he put his hands in front of his eyes and peeked through his fingers.

"What's wrong!" Saria shouted over the screams, she was only now noticing how small Carculous actually was.

"The king absorbed so much of Coral's energy, I think I destroyed them both!"

There was a final burst of light and then the room fell silent. The king's body hung limply from the vines while any trace of the empress had finally been eliminated. Uncovering his eyes, Carculous drifted over to the old man and peered at his pale face.

"We planned to reason with him first then kill him, not the other way around." Glancing around, he realised the staff had disappeared after the blast which was probably for the best.

"The old fool had it coming to him," Eskena couldn't feel any pity for someone who could let themselves be corrupted so easily, especially someone ruling over her kingdom. "It's what we wanted, to get rid of that witch and demand our power back."

Opening her eyes, Celest stared in shock at the ceiling. One minute she was jumping to the dungeons after those other two, the next she was here with no idea how she'd gotten there. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes and screamed at the sight before her.

"W-what's been going on?" she stumbled towards her silent father. "Daddy…?"

Everyone stood in silence not knowing what to say, Celest had been the only one who had outright asked for help and this was her payment. Lowering the king to the ground, Saria was the first to come forward.

"He absorbed so much of Coral's energy, I doubt he would have survived even if the blast hadn't killed him," she placed a hand on Celest's shoulder. "But he'll be at peace now."

"I knew something was going on," the princess whispered while trying desperately to hold back the tears. "I knew it, but I was too late." Falling onto her father's body, she couldn't hold in the tears any longer.

"You knew something was wrong?" Eskena's cold expression shifted to one of sympathy.

"Of course I did! But what does it matter now?" Celest glared at the woman who had rudely captured her when she was searching for answers.

Eskena turned to her brother who shrugged and flew over to them. "It means not all of the royal family are as weak-minded as we thought."

"I don't care what you thought….or what you think now," the girl choked out. Her entire world had come crushing down in the last few years, everything she'd known was but a distant memory in the depths of her mind. "If you want the castle just take it, and the servants too, I'll leave peacefully. Even if this wasn't mine or my father's fault, you both clearly want us out of here."

"You should stay," Carculous finally spoke. "The reason we wanted to speak to the king is because of how corrupt Meldora has become. It has always been a kingdom that relies on solar energy but thinning out the magic in the air was ridiculous. And creating those Solar Knights to use against Hyruleans would make me spin in my grave, if I had one."

"Oh no, Solar Knights!" Link yelled out of nowhere. He'd been standing to the side amazed at how well Saria had handled the king's death and had forgotten about the attack on Hyrule.

"They'll need to be destroyed, and we need to get all the castle workers back," Celest mumbled. "But that's not my place anymore."

"It can be, if you want it," Eskena nodded to Carculous who returned his agreement. "We need someone to run the kingdom in our place, with us at your side I'm sure you could do it."

"But there'd need to be a lot of changes first, like getting rid of that ghastly barrier near the valley and opening up the trading route through the desert," Carculous explained. "And of course, mixing magic back into the realm of technology.. If we combine the powers of the two, I think we'll be able to make Meldora better than it's ever been."

"B-but I don't possess any magical abilities," Celest gulped, how would she rule over a kingdom containing things she knew nothing about?

"We'll share our powers with you," Eskena gave her a rare smile. "Now, about those knights…"

"They were programmed to listen only to my father," Celest sighed.

"I think we can handle them," Saria said a little more confidently than she felt. "Although, you'll need to call off the Meldoran army to make it easier. I'm sure Zelda has something planned to take care of the knights."

"So does that mean we're going to Hyrule?" Madi grinned with excitement.

Both Link and Saria nodded.

"Hooray! We're going home! I uh mean, we're going to Hyrule which will soon be my home!" Buzzing around the room, she turned and looked at the king's body. "Say, didn't he have one of those keys?"

"He did," Saria stared at the king's neck. "We should take them back to Hyrule where they can be destroyed, even if Coral is gone, you never know what could happen."

"I bet Taj snagged it and ran off," Link frowned. "We'll have to catch up to him." Walking towards the main door, he paused when he stepped on something hard. Looking down, he gulped when he saw it was Rika's bow, or what was left of it. "Must've gotten crushed in the fight, she'll be so mad," he sighed. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"He couldn't have gone far," Link scanned the area outside the castle.

"Yeah, considering he was so determined to take the pendants," Saria looked in the direction of the Hyrulean inn. "Maybe the inn owner will know something."

"Maybe, why don't you go that way and I'll take the train? We'll meet at the entrance," Link plucked Madi out of the air and ran off in the direction of the train station.

"I hope the owner is there," Saria mumbled while trying to avoid small pools of dark blood on the streets. Remembering the way back to the inn, she pushed open the door to be greeted with a shock. The man was hanging upside-down from the ceiling, tied tightly with the ropes he'd been using to hold Taj.

"Yep, he's here," Nori grinned.

Using her sword to cut him loose, Saria stepped back to let the man recover.

"I can't believe I let that Sheikah trick me," he coughed.

"Taj was here?" Saria hoped it hadn't been too long ago.

"Taj? If that's that blue-haired kid then yeah, he was here but he left last night. Good thing too, because if I ever see him again!" the man stood up and clenched a fist. "It's those women who have given him such an attitude, he's probably left the city by now anyway."

Leaving the man to his work, Saria left the inn without even wondering who those 'women' could be. Taking out her ocarina, she played a high-pitched note and waited for Perri to find her.

* * *

Arriving at the crowded station, Link gasped when the train was about to leave. Taking a running jump, he gripped onto the end and pulled himself onto the roof.

"What're you doing!" Madi screeched as a gust of wind almost sent her flying off his head.

"Hitching a free ride of course," Link leaned over the side to peer into the carriages. "I wonder if he's inside."

"Looking for someone?" a familiar voice asked behind him.

Turning his head, Link saw Taj smirking down at him but didn't get a chance to say anything as the Sheikah brought out his sword and slashed at his head. Rolling to the side, Link pushed himself to his feet.

"I'm not going to fight you," the blond boy ducked another slash.

"Fine, it'll make my life easier when taking the pendants from you," Taj pushed Link further along the roof, a few more feet and they'd be on top of the driver's carriage.

"I don't have any," Link tried to slow the boy down. "They weren't what we thought they were, Coral was using them for herself." Sidestepping another attack, Link managed to get the other side of Taj who also turned around and began pushing the Hylian back up the train. "We know you have the last key but it really is of no use to you now, so if you'd give it to me…" Link knew that wouldn't work but it was worth a shot.

"It's worth something to me!" Taj shouted. Lunging forward, he sent both of them tumbling off the train onto the street below.

"If you want them so much, why don't you say why!" Link growled.

"I can't," Taj replied still trying to hurt Link who was clearly stronger than him.

"Too bad," Link flung the Sheikah into a nearby wall. Catching his breath, he noticed a piece of paper fall from the taller boy's clothing. "What's this?" he asked picking it up.

"None of your business!" Taj swiped for the paper but missed and fell flat on his face.

Link's eyes widened as he read the writing.

"This is some sort of joke, right? There's no way you would have a Gerudo Membership Card. Where did you steal it from?"

At that moment, Saria arrived on a squawking Perri who landed right on top of Taj to stop him from running anywhere.

"Look what he had all this time!" Link flung the card in Saria's face.

"isn't that one of those cards Nabooru gives people who aren't Gerudo but are good enough to enter the fortress? Didn't you have one?" she slid off Perri and took the card from him to get a better look.

"Yeah, in the, you know," Link didn't want to say 'alternate timeline' in front of Taj. "But how did you get one?" he turned to Taj who was laying crushed under the bird.

"Lady Nabooru asked me not to say anything…she sent me to help you."

"So you try to kill me?" Link didn't know what to think, then remembered all the times Taj had actually helped them.

"I think we should discuss this when we get back to Hyrule," Saria glanced at the sky, it was already early afternoon.

"Ok," Link didn't sound too happy but knew she was right. "I guess we'll take you with us then, as long as you don't try anything funny. We'll talk with you and Nabooru when everything is over."

Not having the energy to argue, Taj nodded glad that they weren't going to continue the interrogation right then.

"Hey!" another voice called from above. "Were you leaving without a goodbye?" Rika appeared with Taru on Eckle and Travis close behind. Jumping off the bird, she ran over to Link and handed him the bomb bag.

"Oh," Link realised he had her bow. "We found this in the castle…"

"M-my bow, what happened to it!" she took the crumpled wooden object from his hands.

"We think it got crushed in the battle," he winced at her expression.

"But…I can't afford another good bow like this, and I can't make one. Using a bow is all I'm really good at, I know I brag a lot, but…" she clutched the thing to her chest.

Thinking it over, Link had an idea. "There's still a bow in the Forest Temple, isn't there?" he looked at Saria who nodded. Then, take this," he took out his own bow and handed it to Rika. "It's from a place called Termina, I think it will be to your liking."

"I can really have it? Just like that?" she admired the gift.

"Sure and you can keep the bombs too, I have plenty more bags," he grinned.

"New bow and bombs? Wow Rika, you could invent bomb arrows!" Taru laughed.

"Bomb arrows? Don't be so stupid Taru, that'd never happen," Rika lightly whacked her brother over the head.

"So yer gonna be off then?" Travis asked from his spot on Feril.

"Yeah, we should be," Link got on Perri after Saria. "Three of us on Perri will be a squeeze but I think we'll make it."

"Thank you for the help, all three of you," Saria smiled.

"Are you crazy? It's us who should be thanking you!" Rika made a thumbs up sign.

"Yeah, you guys rock, I'm sure Hyrule will be glad to have you back," Taru waved as Perri took off from the ground.

"Oh, and Saria!"" Travis shouted. "When Perri gets bigger, you come back and give me a decent race!"

"Alright, I'll hold you to that," she waved.

"And don't forget to invite us to the wedding!"" Rika's voice echoed around the city.

"Um, okay, whatever that is," Saria shrugged.

"Now onto Hyrule!" Madi started singing any words that popped into her head.

"If we survive your singing before we get there," Link covered his ears, it was going to be a long journey home.


	23. Story of a Sheikah

A lone Sheikah boy sat on the edge of the fountain in the centre of Hyrule Market. The evening sun was casting an orange glow along the cobbled ground causing his slender shadow to stretch out in front of him, but he wasn't paying attention to any of the scenery. The boy was lost deep in his thoughts, the others had asked him to drop into the market to see if anyone needed help, but there was no one there so he'd decided to take a seat at the fountain. It had been years since he'd set foot in another part of Hyrule, he'd lived in the shadows beneath the fortress ever since that day…

_It was another ordinary day in the peaceful village of Kakariko, at least, it had been until the attacks began. Blazing fires tore through the tiny village burning the poorly made houses to cinders, Hylian and Sheikah warriors tried desperately to put them out but it was no good. Unbeknown to the king of Hyrule during the war, the majority of the mysterious Sheikah race had been savagely wiped out by the merciless king of thieves, Ganondorf. The only remaining Sheikahs were those who had managed to hide in Kakariko long enough to avoid his attack, but that was all about to change._

_A figure clad in dark armour swept through the village, his mind consumed by a whirlwind of anger as powerful energy formed in the palms of his gloved hands and shot towards the tiny houses around him. His gleaming yellow eyes shone with excitement when tortured screams of the inhabitants reached his ears, a triumphant smirk forming on his rugged, tanned face. It was all so easy and the king would never suspect a thing, especially if he killed everyone in this pathetic village before they had a chance to escape._

_Letting his long, blood-stained cape ripple out behind him, he slowly moved through the village destroying everything that stumbled into his path. Arriving at the final house, he stopped to take in the stench of burning wood and flesh in the crisp night air; filling his nostrils, it sent waves of ecstasy pulsating through his entire body and urged him to continue on with his rampage. Standing a few feet away from the house, he glanced into the nearest window to see a young Sheikah boy clutching a sword duck out of his view. Knowing there was life in there made him all the more determined to put an end to it._

"_You disgust me," a woman's voice said behind him._

_Coming out of his devious thoughts, Ganondorf turned his head to see Nabooru standing with her arms folded, a look of disapproval written on her face._

"_What do you think you're doing here?" he asked in his deep, emotionless voice._

"_I could ask you the same thing, the Gerudo are thieves not murderers, but here you are destroying innocent villages. We were meant to be building connections with other races, not killing them!" Turning to look at the window, she noticed the boy poke his head up then duck again. "Oh, now you've sickened me even more, killing a child!"_

"_A child who will become a man," Ganondorf let his gaze fall on the empty window. "And how dare you follow me here and think you can lecture me, I am your king and you, you are nothing but a meddling bitch who is ignorant to my plans. Wiping out the Sheikahs then telling the king they turned against the Hylians but I, being the trustworthy man I am put an end to their wrath, even if it resulted in the deaths of everyone apart from me involved. I'm sure to gain his trust and then, once I am in the castle…" he trailed off not wanting to say anything more._

_Nabooru couldn't even begin to understand Ganondorf's twisted mind, but she did know she wouldn't allow him to take the life of an innocent child, a rush of thoughts raced through her head until she cam to one she hoped would work. _

"_Why don't we use him?" she said before she could stop herself. _

"_What could we possibly want with a Sheikah child?" Ganondorf crossed his arms impatiently._

"_Think about it, he's a Sheikah, the race destined to protect the Hylians. Well, what if we brought him up to think they destroyed his village? We could train him to become a strong warrior for our side, the Hylians won't know what's hit them when they see a Sheikah fighting for the Gerudos." Nabooru didn't mean any of what she'd said, but she could see Ganondorf was considering the idea._

"_Fine, we'll take him," Ganondorf finally agreed. He knew if he didn't try to compromise, Nabooru could easily turn the rest of his race against him, she had far too much influence over them. "But be warned Nabooru, you will be punished for interfering with my plans, one day."_

He never did figure out what they'd been talking about on that day, the only thing he remembered was watching them conversing then Ganondorf had entered the house and insisted he come with them. From then on he'd been taught how the Hylians had tried to destroy the village and how Ganondorf had stepped in and saved him from a fiery death. When the Gerudo King had finally got his wish of being invited to stay at Hyrule Castle for a while, Taj had been forgotten about and left to his own devices in the underground chambers of the fortress. When it was clear that Ganondorf would not be returning, Nabooru had taken it upon herself to raise Taj properly, to tell him the truth he deserved to learn.

It was still hard for him to acknowledge the fact that it wasn't the Hylians who had destroyed Kakariko, having it drummed into his mind at such a young age had made him believe it was the true story. He did know one thing though, that he owed Lady Nabooru his life and would do anything to repay her for her kindness.

Coming out of his thoughts, the boy turned his head to see a redheaded girl running through the market, her head was bowed as if she was deep in thought and she didn't even notice his presence. Were all Hylians that self-absorbed? He shook his head still trying to shake off his negative feelings toward Hylians, it was time to start judging a person for who they were, not what they were.

* * *

Having yet to change out of her Sheik disguise, Zelda sat by the castle moat with her bare feet paddling in the water. Staring at the reflection looking back at her, she sighed. She didn't know who she was any more, the princess of Hyrule? No, if she was, she wouldn't be sitting pretending to be a Sheikah boy, but she didn't feel comfortable as Sheik either, he was merely an escape from her usual life trapped between four walls. One thing she had learned over the last few days was how incompatible herself and Link were. She remembered the times when they'd sit out there in the evenings talking about anything that came to mind, but most of their conversations ended in the same way - Link would start reminiscing about his life in the forest and how much he wished he could go back to the way it was, minus the constant bullying from Mido but he'd put up with that if it meant he got to spend a lot of time with Saria again. Thinking it over she realised she was the one who was truly lonely, Link was just confused as to what he needed to do to be happy. Encouraging him to visit the forest had been the best thing she could have done for him, now all she needed to do was move on and figure out what she needed to do, starting with deciding on who to be. Everything else would fall into place after that - she hoped. Putting her shoes back on, she stood up from the moat and decided it was time to return to being a princess.

Walking up the slope from the market, Malon hoped she'd find Zelda somewhere in the castle grounds. After the mysterious red-eyed boy had disappeared from the ranch, she didn't have a clue what to do with all the bodies so she thought Zelda could send somebody over to help clear things up. Easily passing the guard by the main gate, she made her way around the corner when she saw the boy standing by the moat, could he be connected to the royals? Watching him place his right hand out, her eyes widened when a golden triangle sent our a blinding light and after a moment, there stood Zelda in her formal robes.

"Z-Zelda?" Malon whispered. Shaking her head form the shock, she forgot where she was and yelled at the princess. "Zelda!"

Turning to see a horrified Malon, Zelda gulped.

"Oh dear." Before she had a chance to explain, a loud explosion came from the market giving her the perfect excuse to postpone telling Malon a very long story.

* * *

"I can't believe Mido made us do this," Rela, one of the twins muttered as she, her sister Fala and the youngest of the Know-It-All brothers, Remo, were wandering through the Lost Woods.

"Yeah, but it was you who volunteered us to come check things out near the entrance. Why did we have to go all the way around anyway?" Fala asked pushing a low branch out of her face.

"I wanted to show him we're just as useful as he 'thinks' he is to the village! You're my sister so I assumed you'd want to help and Rem has a major crush on you so I knew he'd come along," Rela turned down another path hoping she knew where she was going this time.

"How did you- No I don't!" A flustered Remo adjusted his lopsided hat then walked right into a blushing Fala's back when Rela suddenly stopped in the front.

"Do you hear that?" she hissed to the others who stared at her blankly.

"I don't hear anything," Fala looked around nervously. "If Saria were here we wouldn't be so lost!"

"Yeah… but she's not so we have to deal with it, and we're not lost, we just can't find our way," Rela mumbled. Ever since Saria had left the forest she'd been feeling a bit down, they were supposed to be friends but she hadn't even bothered saying goodbye.

"I wonder if she'll come back, Link too, not that they could do anything more than we can if the forest was under attack, we'd need the Forest Sage for that. Didn't the Deku Sprout say the Sage would be awakened when the forest was in danger?" Remo clutched at the piece of wood he had in his hand.

"Imagine if it's Mido!" Fala gasped. "That would be terrible!"

"You two remembered to enchant your weapons, right?" Rela glanced at the piece of wood Remo held then at the bows she and her sister had brought.

"Of course, we aren't stu- Hey! I hear something too!" Remo pushed past the girls and peered through the trees overlooking the bridge that connected the forest to the outside world.

A group of terrified looking soldiers were standing on the bridge, feeling the effects of such a strong magical force field some had insisted on stopping for a rest.

"The graveyard was bad enough but this place takes it to another level," one man stared into the darkness of the Lost Woods, he was sure he could see unusual shadows moving around amongst the trees. "Which way do we even go?"

"How about out of here?" another soldier shivered, he couldn't wait to leave.

"Grow some backbones, both of you!" the one who appeared to be in charge shouted. "After the graveyard incident we need to get this one right, besides, I heard a bunch of kids live in this area, how dangerous could they be? I say we take a match and burn this place to the ground."

"You should be careful what you say!" Rela yelled from within the trees. Holding up her bow, she placed her hand where an arrow should have been and pulled back. Instantly, a glowing emerald arrow materialised out of thin air and shot towards the men causing an explosion of Kokiri magic on the bridge. Leaping out of the trees, Rela landed right in the middle of the commotion and started firing arrows in every direction.

"She had to make a grand entrance, didn't she?" Fala sighed. "We should've gone back to the village to get help first."

"Yeah, but since we're here..." Remo held out the piece of wood he'd been carrying, focusing his energy into the object he was rewarded with a glowing green blade. "Mido's face will be a picture when we tell him how we defeated the outsiders!" Following Rela's lead, he leapt from the trees and began firing beams of magic from the sword.

"Don't you mean 'if' we defeat them?" Fala mumbled before jumping down after them. Using the same method as her sister, she created an arrow from magic and sent it shooting toward the nearest man who, unfortunately for him, turned into a stalfos the moment the arrow touched his armour.

"You little brats!" a few soldiers tried to grab Rela but she would fade out of sight and reappear behind them.

"Have some respect for your elders," she grinned sending another arrow into more of the men. Taking a step back, she hadn't been expecting one of them to be standing behind her.

"Now I've got you," the leader of the men gripped her tunic tightly in his large hand. "I wonder how your little friends would feel if I tore you apart in front of them?" he held his sword to her throat.

"Rela!" Fala went to shoot at the man but realised it wouldn't be a smart idea.

"If you lead us to your village, we might think about letting you live," the man lied, he had no intention of letting them live but knew a bunch of kids couldn't be very intelligent.

Suddenly a bitter wind wrapped around everyone standing on the bridge. Looking at the hand holding her clothes, Rela's eyes went wide when his skin started turning a sickly brown and his grip loosened. A few seconds later and all the men were laying in heaps of rotten bones on the floor.

"What just happened…?" She had a funny feeling she'd felt that breeze before, or at least the energy within it. Hearing loud noises coming from outside the forest, she screamed when a strange machine found its way into the woods.

"Let's get out of here before that thing sees us!" Remo grabbed them by their arms and dragged the shocked twins back to the village.

Running into the village, they were greeted with another problem when a shower of arrows rained down, nearly wounding any unsuspecting Kokiri.

"Where are they coming from!" Fala clutched at Rela's arm.

"I don't know but I wish the Deku Sprout was old enough to do something!" Rela screamed over the sounds of burning arrows flying over their heads. Pulling her sister to one side, she winced when a cluster of arrows flew right towards them. Bracing themselves for a hit, both girls were surprised when nothing happened.

"What's going on out here?" Mido shuffled out of his house with an assortment of weapons in his hands. Noticing the startled expressions on their faces, he turned his attention to the sky to see a shimmering green barrier covering the entire village. Sensing an immense magical force in the woods, he span around and gasped when the symbol of the forest appeared over the area of the temple. Blinding sparks shot out of the symbol, stretching off in various directions towards the other temples. Preparations for Zelda's plan were finally complete.

"At last you have awakened, Forest Sage." The Deku Sprout;s voice drifted into the village.

Mido's eyes started darting around the village searching for anyone performing powerful magic.

"Alright, which one of you is it?" he finally said, his mouth twisting into an annoyed frown. If the Sage really had awakened it would mean he wouldn't be able to claim village leadership any more.

"That would be me," a familiar voice said out of nowhere. Appearing in the centre of the village in a flash of light, Saria sat on the bridge connected to her house. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"Sa-Sa-Saria!" Mido's mouth flapped open and closed like a first-prize fish.

"Saria, you jerk! You didn't say goodbye to us!" Rela dashed towards her friend after she'd jumped off the bridge. "But you did save our lives so I think I can forgive you."

"Good to know," Saria smiled. She was glad to be home, even if it was in the middle of a meaningless war.

_Six Sages, meet me In in the Temple of Time. Immediately!_

Zelda's voice entered her head.

"Nori, Madi, can you go to the temple and tell Link I'll be back soon? Zelda needs to see the Sages." she asked then realised if she left there'd be no one to keep the barrier up.

"But who'll hold off the attacks?" It didn't shock Fala that Saria was the Sage but she did wonder how her friend had mysteriously grown a few inches.

Turning to look at Mido fussing with his weapons, Saria remembered all the times he'd bragged about being the strongest in the village. Well now it was time to see if his words held any truth.

"Would you be able to do something for me Mido?"

"Sure, what did you want?" he chucked the weapons into his house and walked over to the group.

"I need you to keep the barrier going." Saria figured it was about time he did something useful.

"But I'm not - not…" Mido struggled to get his words out. "I'm not that great, I don't think I can do it."

"Trust Mido to break the habit of a lifetime now," Rela nudged Remo who nodded.

"You should ask someone else to do it," he turned his back on them.

"I can't, you're the only one who can do it," Saria saw the others staring at her like she'd slapped each of them in the face. "Sorry, that's just the way it has to be, you're always claiming you're the leader, so why don't you show it?"

There was a long silence until finally,

"Fine, I'll do it, but how?" Before he had a chance to think, Mido felt Saria grab his hand and send a burning stream of energy into his body; if he hadn't have know better, he would have thought she was trying to kill him.

"That should do it," she took a strep back to make sure it had worked. Mido's hand had started to glow the same colour as the barrier causing him to admire it in awe. "Picture the barrier in your mind and focus the energy into making it."

Doing as she instructed, Mido held his hand out and formed the image of the barrier in his mind and seconds later a second barrier was covering the original.

"There should be enough energy to hold it until this is over," Saria reassured them then vanished as mysteriously as she had arrived.

* * *

Clutching the Gilded Sword tightly in one hand Link cautiously entered the Forest Temple, memories of the last time he'd been there flooding into his mind, but he knew this time that he wouldn't leave until they were defeated. Stepping into the central room all he could see was total darkness, one more step and he felt the room would swallow him whole.

"He has returned sisters," a voice hissed from within the walls.

"Yes and he comes alone, no girlfriend to hold his hand, no fairy to light the way." a second voice joined in.

"I'm perfectly capable of destroying you myself," Link growled then mentally slapped himself for giving away the bow, he was always thinking of others before himself, without it he couldn't think what to use to find them and the Fairy Bow was too deep in the temple to retrieve. If he could just get down to the candles and use Din's Fire…

"The time to strike is finally upon us!" another voice exclaimed with excitement.

A blinding white light formed in the middle of the room and before he could react, Link was thrown off his feet as the energy shot forwards and engulfed his entire body; a searing pain tore through to his very core, gripping the hilt of his sword with all his strength was the only thing stopping him from screaming. So focused on staying in control, Link didn't notice when he was lifted off his feet in the light and levitated towards the figures moving it, his body too numb to do anything.

"Take him to the house sisters, the Hero of Time is ours at last."

* * *

Zelda stood patiently awaiting the arrival of the Sages in the Temple of Time, now that the symbols were in place it was time to put an end to this war. Pacing back and forth in front of the alter images of Malon's shocked face raced through her mind, the poor ranch girl really had had no idea what had been going on right under her nose all these years. The princess felt sorry for Link when Malon got a hold of him, that would be something to take pictures of for sure.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she smiled when she recognized Impa's energy appearing on the Light symbol; her faithful attendant could always be relied on to arrive on time, unlike the rest. Soon her patience paid off when the remaining Sages arrived, apart from Ruto who just had to make everyone wait.

"Can't we just start without her?" Nabooru grinned, folding her arms.

"Ruto might be a pain but she's as important as-"

"What were you saying about me!"

Zelda got a rude interruption when Ruto whirled into the temple in an orb of blue light.

"I was saying Ruto is perfectly sane. Anyway!" she exclaimed before the Zora princess could talk about where she'd been. "It's good to see you all again," the comment mainly directed at Saria who shot her a smile. "But I assume you know why I've gathered you here? Hundreds more Solar Knights have been sent to attack us, the only way to fully get rid of them is to do this." Motioning for them to form a circle around her she prepared to continue. "The spell is ready to begin, however, if not done properly it could be dangerous so I need to know you're all with me on this."

"Dangerous? In what way princess?" Darunia asked, the Goron leader still hadn't completely calmed down after the attack on the mountain.

"Well, it may end up consuming you, but that's very unlikely…" she trailed off unsure of how they'd react. There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke.

"We were chosen to be Sages for a reason, if we turned our backs on the kingdom then we wouldn't be deserving of such titles." It was Saria who spoke, the timid Kokiri girl they'd met at the party seemed to have been taken over by the Sage inside her.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Nabooru agreed along with Impa who gave a silent nod.

"If we're all sure then of course I will help too," Darunia turned to Ruto who had yet to say anything but she knew what needed to be said.

"Yeah, right, let's do this thing!"

"Okay," Zelda smiled. Resuming her position in the centre the circle, she raised her arms above her head and began to chant a spell in modern Hylian none of them had heard before. Forming a golden sphere between her hands, she turned towards the spot between Impa and Saria where the image of Rauru appeared from within the Temple of Light.

Saria watched in fascination as the golden sphere gradually changed to a deep yellow the further Zelda got into the chant. Seeing streaks of yellow burst from the sphere and engulf Rauru who, unlike Zelda, spoke in ancient Hylian, she swallowed hard; if they were meant to already know this spell then she'd forgotten to rehearse. Turning to her left, she noticed Darunia looked just as confused as she did and so did the rest of the group.

The deep yellow turned to a forest green and Zelda turned towards Saria, the sphere shot out a stream of emerald magic but instead of still being clueless, the moment the energy touched her Saria knew exactly what to say.

Two different versions of Hylian and the Kokiri language echoed around the temple soon to be joined by Goron, Zora, Gerudo and finally, Sheikah. The sphere disappeared from between Zelda's hands, as did everyone in the room.

The entire kingdom started to shake violently, hundreds of multicoloured meteors hurtled towards the ground destroying any unwanted guests the moment they made contact with them. Burning reds of the mountains, blinding yellows of light, warm oranges of the desert, sparkling blues of the oceans, lush greens of the forest and dark purples of the shadows rained down, cleansing the kingdom of every Solar Knight still standing.

Being the first to arrive back in the temple, Zelda sighed with relief when she saw the others join her, the world outside a deathly silent.

"It's over."

* * *

Inside the Forest Temple, Nori and Madi were busily looking for Link, their glowing lights casting tiny shadows through the pitch black rooms.

"So this is the famous Forest Temple, huh?" Madi glanced around the main room. "It's pretty dark, I can't see someone like Saria liking it in here."

"You'd be surprised," Nori mumbled. "It's not usually this dark though, something is wrong…" he could sense powerful magic had been used in this room and it wasn't the friendly sort. Flying over to the elevator his suspicions were confirmed when he saw something lying inside it, getting a closer look, he gasped.

"Isn't that Link's sword?" Madi landed next to him.

"Yeah, he takes it everywhere, I should contact Saria."

"You two can talk telepathically? And all this time you never told me!" the golden fairy felt as though she'd been left out of some special club.

"Only in the forest and you never asked," Nori replied.

"Oh, but if you hadn't noticed, Saria isn't in the forest!"

"Let me correct that, we can do it when _I'm_ in the forest," turning his back on her, he concentrated on the message.

* * *

"Nabooru, I need to talk to you about someone I met in the market," Zelda's voice said behind Saria who was admiring the closed Door of Time. "He said you knew him."

"Hmm? I don't know who you could be talking about," Nabooru grinned sheepishly.

"Oh come on, how many Sheikah boys exist in Hyrule? Stop playing the innocent," the princess would get her answers eventually.

"Sheikah boy?" Impa raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't I know of this?"

"Um," Nabooru couldn't get out of this one.

_Saria could you get back to the temple? I think something has happened to Link. _Nori's message entered her head.

"Oh!" she exclaimed over the conversations. "I have to go, the Forest Temple is in trouble."

"Trouble?" Zelda became concerned forgetting about Taj. "Then we'll all go, it wouldn't be safe to go alone."

"Right," said Impa. "We'll discuss this Sheikah boy later."

And so six of the Sages warped to the Forest Temple where the search for Link would begin.


	24. Alone Together

"So she's coming now?" Madi squeaked at Nori.

"Yeah, of course, did you think she wouldn't?" he went to make his way back to the entrance.

"No, but… after you said I'd be surprised, I've been wondering if I really know you people at all. Is Saria really this sweet, innocent girl, or is she a leader of some sort of death cult? Is Link as heroic as he seems or is at an act and when this is over he'll return to the dark side? And who are you anyway? Forget that, I don't even know who I am anymore!" She carried on rambling until voices echoed from the entrance.

"I thought we were discussing this later," Nabooru's voice said over the others as they walked through the first corridor.

"We will but I'm just curious," Zelda replied. "I thought all the Sheikahs had died out so where did you find this boy?"

While they were talking, Saria had taken the lead and was about to open the second door when she realised everything around her was coming to life, it was as if the temple had accepted her as its new Sage. The moment she opened the door, the endless darkness gradually dissolved leaving behind a dim light that the temple spirits were used to.

"There you are!" Madi welcomed the coming of the light.

Walking past the Fairies Saria knelt down and picked up the sword, the hilt still felt warm from when he'd been holding it. For a moment she felt like all of this was her fault, if Link had never bothered coming back to see her none of this would be happening.

"Isn't that the Kokiri Sword, what's left of it anyway."

Neirol's spirit appeared hovering behind her, putting his arms behind his head he shot her a 'I figured something out before you' look.

"Yeah, why did I never notice this?" she turned the hilt around in her hands which was barely recognizable to her anymore.

"Perhaps it's because you're a dummy," he started laughing at her expression.

"I thought you were meant to be nice."

"I am! I gave you a sword remember?"

"Uh-huh but it wasn't made with me in mind."

"Um, Saria, who are you talking to?" Zelda interrupted their conversation.

Saria turned to see the others staring blankly at her, she'd totally forgotten they had been there the whole time.

"Only you can see and hear me, aren't you the lucky one?" Neirol waved at the others who clearly didn't see a thing.

"I-I talk to myself sometimes, sorry about that," she stepped away from Neirol hoping he would take the hint and leave.

"I think whatever went on up here has been taken to the basement," Nori was sure the powerful magic had been used on the elevator.

"Not much in the basement, is there? Only those paint- No, you don't think they used one of those, do you?" Zelda asked no one in particular.

"Those paintings can be used for something?" Saria blinked, she'd always thought they were something someone with bad taste had painted centuries ago.

"We'll talk on the way," Zelda made her way to the elevator and motioned for the others to follow.

"Here!" Zelda exclaimed as they stood in the centre of the room with the paintings. "They used this one to go through," she could feel the energy pulsating from the artwork, somehow the sisters had managed to get into the realm within.

"There's a world… in there?" Staring in awe at the picture, Saria's eyes fell on the strange silhouette near the top which she thought could be a house.

"Kind of, you could say it's part of a world," Zelda explained, "but that's all I know since no complete documents exist concerning these paintings."

"That's great and all but how do we get to Link!" Madi flew up to the painting and bashed against it. "I can't get in!"

"It takes a lot of magic to enter such a painting, only one of us will be able to go," the princess paused, she knew exactly what was coming next.

"One of us? What happened to 'it wouldn't be safe to go alone'!" Ruto said in a high, squeaky voice that sounded nothing like Zelda's.

"Would you prefer we stayed here staring at the painting forever?" Zelda replied calmly.

"Fine, then I nominate myself," Ruto folded her arms as if her decision was final.

"I don't think that's wise," Impa cut in.

"Why not!" Ruto snapped, she couldn't believe anyone would think she wasn't the best choice for the task.

"I will gladly volunteer," the Shadow Sage continued, ignoring a fuming Ruto.

"I would too but we all know Zelda's the best choice," Nabooru reminded them.

"This is true," Darunia nodded, he would have volunteered himself but knew Zelda's powers were far greater than his.

"You're both forgetting something," Zelda stopped them, "I need to stay here to help open the portal, and," she turned to Saria who had been so absorbed in looking into the painting she hadn't been listening, "I think Link would prefer to see Saria over me."

"Well duh, Saria is the obvious choice!" Madi smiled proudly. "And with me and Nori going along too it will be easy!"

"Um," Zelda dropped her gaze. "You fairies can't go either."

"What! Why not?" Nori felt a rush of anxiety overcome him.

"Like I sad, only one can go and even though you're small, you still count as people."

"It's okay, I'll be fine," Saria reassured them. "If the only way to help Link is to go alone, then I will."

"Right, then prepare to go now, I think I'll be able to open the portal myself but I'll need the rest of you to levitate Saria up to it," Zelda took up a position in front of the painting, reaching a hand out, she looked as if she was pulling the canvas towards herself.

"What is she doing?" Madi whispered to Nori who shrugged.

"Opening the portal I suppose."

The remaining four Sages gathered around Saria and began channelling their energy to her while Zelda continued to open the portal, a bright white light slowly forming in the centre of the picture.

"I just hope she knows what she's doing," Nori sighed, watching the girl he'd known for longer than he could remember floating into the open portal, to a world they knew nothing about.

* * *

He was lying face-down on a cold, stone floor, not being able to feel any part of his body he wondered if he even had a body anymore. All he could remember was a blinding light and that pain, that excruciating pain that had torn through his body almost causing him to drop his sword, wait, what if he had dropped it without realising? It would help if he could see in front of his face, then he realised his eyes weren't even open, that would be a good start. Forcing his eyelids open his suspicions were confirmed, he was indeed on a stone floor but where, he couldn't work out. Feeling some of his senses slowly returning, he rolled over onto his back and gasped.

The ceiling and both walls on either side of him were covered in empty picture frames, the only blank wall was the one directly in front of him which disappointed him since it didn't seem to have a door. Assuming the wall behind him was also covered in frames, Link took in the appearance of the frames more closely, some were larger, others were multicoloured or had no colour at all while others were different shapes. It was all very strange. Not being able to move any further, he hoped whatever had captured him would make themselves known soon.

"He is finally awake sisters," one of the voices spoke out of nowhere.

"Then let us begin, I think we should have some fun with him before we destroy his soul and use his body for a throw-rug in our mansion Weaken his mind and the rest of him will follow."

"Huh?" Link mumbled, his throat burning whenever he tried to talk. Before he could attempt to mumble some more, one of the frames flew off the wall and stuck itself to the empty one. Doubling in size, it began to flash a variety of colours before setting on a familiar scene to him, one of his oldest memories from outside the forest. One he hated remembering.

_A ten-year-old Link stood in the entrance of Zora's Domain, his small hand clasped around the sparkling Zora Sapphire. He had just returned from giving the Goron Ruby back to Darunia so now it was time to face Ruto, he knew the Zora princess wouldn't be as happy to have her stone returned to her since she'd been so excited for him to have it, he couldn't understand why though._

The image blurred out and was replaced by one of him and Ruto standing by Jabu Jabu.

"_R-Ruto?" Link swallowed, the girl always made him anxious, he never knew when she was going to pounce. _

"_Link!" the Zora girl stopped what she had been doing and ran over to him where she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him right on the lips._

_Stumbling backwards, Link almost passed out. It was the first time anyone had ever done that and he hoped to never do it again, ever._

"_Let me guess, you're here to discuss wedding plans!" she squealed happily._

"_N-no! Listen, I came to return this," Link's shaky hand held out her sapphire which she stared at in disbelief._

"_What? That's yours to keep silly! Now that we're enga-"_

"_I don't know what you mean but you have to take it back," he interrupted. "You know the reason I needed it, now that it's over you can have it back. I think it would be better if-if you gave it to someone w-who wants to have engagements and weddings like you do, b-because I don't. I'm really sorry…" he wanted the ground to swallow him whole when he saw her expression, she looked devastated._

"_I see," she said, barely in a whisper. Reaching out her hand she took the stone from his and slowly moved away, tears forming in the corners of her eyes._

"_Ruto I-"_

"_No, it's fine, really," she turned away so he wouldn't see her crying. "You should go before I change my mind."_

The image stopped moving and Link's mind was brought back to the present.

_What're they trying to do to me?_ He thought to himself, a pang of guilt clinging to his heart. Not giving him a chance to think it over, another frame took the place of the first enabling another scene to begin.

The next one featured himself and Malon, he remembered that day well too. She'd been pestering him about why he never spoke much about his life or why he didn't seem to have a proper home; he would say the same thing every time, that there wasn't anything to tell and he'd appreciate if she didn't keep on asking. Of course, she carried on regardless and in the end he had told her he was leaving, disappearing from the ranch without even saying goodbye. The hurt expression on her face made him feel sick, he couldn't believe he'd left like that.

The frame left as quickly as it had arrived and the next took its place, then another and another, the room was playing out the negative impact he had had on so many people over the last few years. Images of everyone he knew, Zelda, Nabooru, Ruto again, Impa, Darunia, Zelda some more, some rather painful ones with Saria he could have done without seeing, and some other people he wasn't expecting to see. Some were easy to work out while others were confusing, he doubted Darunia or Impa would be upset at him over anything which made him start to wonder how exaggerated these things were.

"I get what you're trying to do now," he managed to say loud enough for whoever was listening to hear. "Showing me how awful I make people feel. Yeah, well, I live with that knowledge everyday so it's nothing new." Even if he felt terrible, he wouldn't let them see it.

"He will break soon enough sisters, then we will strike."

* * *

"Ugh, that's not something I want to do again in a hurry," Saria mumbled as she fell through the portal into some sort of stream. Standing, she realised she wasn't wet at all but the water still felt like it was. Turning to look behind, she noticed a picture of the room she'd just been in with a swirling portal in the centre. "I guess we go back through that."

"Whoa! I didn't know you could come here!" Neirol's spirit burst out of the bracelet and hovered at her side.

"Me neither, but I don't think it's somewhere you'd want to come out of choice," Saria looked around at the dreary scenery, it was exactly like the painting down to the last detail. Dark storm clouds drifted above them as they travelled along the shallow stream towards the shadow in the distance, the only thing on either side being a forgotten wasteland littered with dead trees and plants.

"Hey, isn't that…?" Neirol asked when they got close enough to the shadow to see what it was.

"The Forest Temple?" Saria finished his sentence. "It looks a little different."

"What are you talking about? It's exactly as it was back when I was alive," his comment directed at the stone steps leading up to the temple entrance.

"The steps are gone," Saria explained as they reached the front door, another difference between the temples. "And this door."

"Oh… I guess someone took their temper out on it, right before their own brother killed them of course."

"That was _you_? You destroyed a set of stone steps?" she was starting to wonder how nice this guy really was. "Do you know how long it took me to make a ladder? It did take my mind off other things though… How did you manage it?"

"I used the sword," Neirol told her, receiving a wry look. "I was angry okay? You would have been too if- never mind, you already know the story."

"Yeah, sorry." Saria pushed the main door open and was greeted with a large room, one she was sure she had seen before. Candles lit up the room, casting a golden light along a dark green carpet beneath a long banquet table covered with many different foods.

"I don't remember this room," Neirol glanced at the food. "That food looks fake by the way."

"I'm not going to find out," Saria wandered past the table towards the back wall where a long curtain hung concealing something behind, pulling at the material she gasped when she found a large picture playing out a scene which kept repeating over and over inside the frame. It featured the four sisters in their usual spirit forms surrounding a girl she had never seen before.

"Aeffia," Neirol stared in shock at the moving image, it had been so long.

"So that's her?" Saria could see it now, the Kokiri clothing was an obvious giveaway but the bushy brown hair was a rarity amongst the Kokiri. Looking closer she could also see a bracelet on one arm, a similar bracelet to the one she was wearing.

They continued to watch the picture as the four sisters surrounded Aeffia and began to speak.

"Lord Ganondorf told us if we want to return to normal we must use your powers, Forest Sage," Amy, the one who glowed green explained.

"I-I'm not going to help you!" Aeffia exclaimed. She didn't know how long she had been held there but her Sage powers had totally diminished over the years leaving her defenceless.

"Oh but you will little girl, dead or alive, you will," the red sister, Joelle, cackled wickedly.

"Yes, if you will not cooperate then you will die," Beth lunged towards the startled Aeffia, blue flames swirling around her ghostly figure. The other sisters followed and in a flash of four colours, there was a deafening scream and then, silence.

Neirol's eyes were glued to the picture, he watched anxiously as the flames died down, hoping to see the one person he'd been waiting so long to get a glimpse of once more before he left this world for good. But there was nothing, apart from a broken bracelet left lying on the burnt carpet.

"No…. NOOOO!" Neirol screamed at the picture which carried on playing out the scene.

"Why can we not use her power, sisters?" Meg asked as she tried to use their new power.

"Lord Ganondorf spoke of another Sage, a new Forest Sage."

"Then we shall form a plan to awaken her, then when she returns she will suffer the same fate as our poor departed Aeffia." The sisters nodded to each other then the image blurred out and started over again.

"Don't close it!" Neirol shouted when Saria was about to draw the curtains, she assumed it would be too painful for him to watch again. "Please, just leave it open."

Taking a few steps back, Saria felt her foot step on something uneven, kneeling down she got a shock when she found a piece of bracelet lying amongst a section of burnt carpet she hadn't noticed until now.

"This must be quite recent," she said more to herself than the heartbroken Neirol. "She was here all this time and no one knew, and now…" she cut herself off, this was terrible, if she had watched that happen to Link she didn't know what she would do. Closing her eyes, she tried to contact him but it was no use, there was a strong magical energy in the house blocking any communication.

"Hey, Saria, can you do something for me?" Neirol finally spoke, "when, and I mean _when_, you get rid of those women, would you destroy my bracelet please? You can leave me here for now, I'd like to be alone."

"If you're sure…" Saria went to take the bracelet off.

"Oh and Saria," he said before she could fully remove it, "if you ever need some arrows, just twist the hilt of the sword."

"Huh?" she blinked.

"I'm sure you'll work it out if you need to," he grinned then faded out of sight, leaving Saria to work out what to do next. Turning to the left, she saw a door leading off into the rest of the house, anything was better than standing there.

* * *

Hundreds upon hundreds of pictures flew past Link's eyes, some he remembered while others he was sure were exaggerated, or was he really that forgetful? Either way, he wouldn't let them see how he was feeling and they had to run out of bad memories to torture him with eventually.

"He does not flinch sisters," a voice hissed from above.

"Then let us show him something else, after all, we can access anyone's mind in this house."

A new set of frames swept into the room out of nowhere and took their place amongst the rest. One fairly new-looking frame broke away from the group and stuck itself to the main wall where a memory Link had never seen before began.

The picture showed him a familiar scene of the fairy ball but he was nowhere in the image, so whose memory was it? To answer his question the memory blurred out then on to the image of Saria and Nori dancing at the ball, watching them made him wish he had had the nerve to dance with her in public and not running away like he had done. The dance continued until something happened that would have normally shocked him, but for some reason the sisters couldn't work out, it didn't.

"You thought you'd show me Nori kiss Saria and think I'd be hurt?" Link could feel his strength slowly returning. "Too bad since I already knew. That Fairy Ale does strange things to the mind you know, I accidentally saw some of her thoughts without realising but then I passed out and didn't remember the next day. It doesn't matter though since people make mistakes." He didn't know why he was explaining himself to them but he felt they should know how much it didn't bother him and the knowledge that Saria could be in the place he was made him feel a lot better.

"Ah, sisters, if no other memories crush him, this one surely will."

A dark frame from the one of the highest corners of the room drifted down to the wall taking the place of the previous one. Link stared at it dumbly, confident that whatever was in it wouldn't phase him any more than the others had. Letting the memory begin, he watched intently as his mind became absorbed in the past of himself or Saria.

_The Kokiri girl and her fairy sat high up in the peaceful courtyard of the Forest Temple. Swinging her legs over the side of the ledge she was sitting on, Saria looked down at the ground below; it was a long way down. She had no idea how long they'd been there, it could have been days or even months for all she cared, the only thing she cared about had left her standing on a bridge years ago. Of course, she always had known it was going to happen, but she had pushed it to the back of her mind as if doing that would stop it from happening._

"_Saria?" Nori asked quietly, she hadn't spoken for hours._

"_Yeah?" she replied, her tone emotionless._

"_Do you want to go back to the village? I'm sure your friends are worried."_

"_I'm not good company right now," she mumbled and pulled her legs up to her chest._

"_But if you went back maybe you'd feel better," Nori hated seeing her like this, he knew he shouldn't but he felt angry towards Link for leaving her._

"_You don't understand."_

"_Then explain to me." he landed on the floor next to her, anxious about how close she was sitting to the edge of the ledge._

"_It wouldn't make a difference to how I'm feeling if I did go back, he was - is my best friend, and I…I…"_

"_I know you miss him but-"_

"_I should move on? When was the last time you tried moving on from someone you l-" she stopped herself as if saying it would bring down the temple walls. _

"_Saria…"_

"_Let's just face facts, now that he's gotten a taste of the outside, he'll never want to come back here and who can blame him?" she would have carried on but her emotions got the better of her and the tears came._

Link squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch the scene anymore. After all this time, Saria had never told him what had gone on in those seven years, they would always talk about what he'd been doing but when he would ask about her she would pretend everything was fine. That was Saria all over, always putting others before herself, especially him. His eyes started to water as he played back the scene in his head, a stream of guilt burning through his chest.

"Please don't cry, I hate seeing you like this."

He heard Nori's voice saying in the image, the memory was still playing.

_Shifting her legs back over the edge, Saria peered down at the ground below and suddenly had a rush of thoughts about what it would be like to hit the ground from that far up; what it would be like to feel something, anything, just to feel instead of the constant numbness that had consumed her heart._

"_What do you think it would be like to fall from here?" she finally said when the tears had stopped._

"_I don't- Saria! Why are you asking such things!" Nori found himself wishing Link or the Great Deku Tree was there right about then, or anyone who could bring back the old Saria again._

"_Link doesn't care anymore, you'd be better off without me and everyone in the village could easily get on without my existence. Even if the fall wouldn't kill me, it would be nice to feel pain, to feel like this isn't some twisted nightmare, to feel alive."_

The image continued to play out but all Link could hear were those last words Saria had said. He couldn't, no - he wouldn't believe, that Saria would think to do something like that, not over him. Then he remembered where he was, it was them playing with his mind, he knew it. The whole thing was probably pieced together by some kind of dark magic and he'd fallen for it, but not for much longer. Something in his mind snapped.

"You liars!" he screamed over the sound of Nori's voice speaking words he could barely hear.

"He thinks we lie sisters," a voice cackled.

"The fool obviously does not know this is all true, true that the Forest Sage is not all she seems."

"No! You're lying!" Link felt an immense energy overtake his body and before he knew what was happening, the cloth on his right hand tore apart enabling a glowing Ebelon blade to materialise out of his hand. Not stopping to think about what was going on, he dashed towards the picture and sliced the sword straight through it. A burst of light shone through the tear in the image and without warning, the rest of the frames started flying around the room, slamming angrily into a startled Link who covered his face and ended up falling to the floor as they span over his head, until finally, they stopped.

A door appeared in the place the large frame had been as footsteps could be heard approaching the room. Bracing himself for a new enemy, he gave a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.

"Link!" Saria pushed open the door, her face lighting up when she saw him, the complete opposite of how she'd looked in the memory. Noticing that he'd been crying, she ran over and pulled him into a hug. "What have they been doing to you?"

"Too much," he choked out, returning the hug. "But it's better, now that you're here."

Suddenly the door disappeared as the walls of the room began to close in, so slowly that it was hardly noticeable. The spirits of the sisters warped into the room just as the Ebelon Sword disappeared from Link's hand.

"Here," Saria handed him the Gilded Sword.

"Once we kill the Hero of Time and use the Forest Sage's powers to restore ourselves, the return of Lord Ganondorf will begin."

Link snorted, he'd destroyed them once before and he could do it again. Gripping his sword tightly, he ran blindly towards them with only one thing in his mind, hurting them for the pain they'd caused. Slashing through the nearest one who happened to be Meg, he wasn't surprised when she vanished out of his sight and he felt a searing pain cutting across his back. Stumbling into the nearest wall, he turned around and was sure the room looked a bit smaller but didn't have time to think it over when the four sisters surrounded Saria.

"I think you're forgetting something," Saria disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room, "Aeffia had lost her powers, while I haven't." Taking out the sword, she instinctively twisted the hilt and the weapon twisted into a dark green bow. Under the impression it was enchanted, she placed one hand where the arrow should have been and pulled back to reveal a shimmering, emerald arrow which she fired without hesitation towards the sisters.

The arrow collided with the poes causing a small explosion sending everyone, including Link and Saria flying backwards into the walls.

"I didn't think we'd get hit," Saria turned to look at the wall, she could see it gradually closing in now.

"They're using most of their energy to do this," Link took out the Mirror Shield, using it to block oncoming attacks, "along with other tricks they've been playing." He knew he would be able to take all four out with a powerful spin attack, but the room was becoming smaller by the minute so anything he tried would surely harm Saria too.

"Surround them sisters and prepare to finish them!" The poes formed a circle around the pair. "Neither can attack and neither can run," they started focusing on the same spell they'd used on Aeffia.

_There has to be a way…_ Link thought as he and Saria stood back-to-back. Clutching at his sword, he suddenly had an idea. "Saria, you have the sword, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't use it for much," she replied, twisting the bow so it would return to being a sword.

"Just bare with me, reach around and hold onto my sword and I'll do the same for yours,"

Deciding he knew what he was doing, Saria did as he asked and reached around to hold onto the hilt of his sword.

"Ok, now focus all of your energy into the blades and let me do the rest."

In a matter of seconds both blades were glowing a light blue while the sisters carried on concentrating on their spells, the walls continuing to move inwards, another minute and they wouldn't be able to move. As soon as both swords were glowing a deep orange, Link closed his eyes and pulled them into the mightiest spin attack his strength would allow. Bursts of orange energy filled the room, sending sparks of burning magic slicing into the sisters who screeched in agony as the power of both blades tore through their defences, ripping into their wretched souls. No spell could counter the force of such an attack.

The screams of the women echoed throughout the room even after their souls had gone, but they had something else to worry about, the walls had stopped moving but the entire house was falling apart.

"Let's go!" Link grabbed Saria's hand as the door reappeared and they headed into the dark corridor which led back to the main room.

"Wait, I need to do something," Saria pulled him in the opposite direction of the exit.

"But this place will crush us," he didn't want life to end, not now they were finally home.

"it's really important, to me," Saria was a little annoyed Neirol had asked her to come back and destroy his bracelet but she wouldn't go back on her word.

"Okay," Link nodded. "If it's important to you then it's important to me too."

Dodging a falling chandelier, they arrived in front of the largest picture in the house. Kneeling on the floor Saria found the bracelet and looked at it for one last time, holding it between both hands, she attempted to tear it apart but it was no good.

"It must need magic…" she reached for her sword and placed the bracelet on the carpet. "I guess this is goodbye Neirol, it's a shame we didn't get to speak much but the past belongs in the past." Bringing the sword down over it, she sliced right through the flowers letting Neirol's spirit finally rest in peace. "Okay, we can go now," she stood and took Link's hand.

Arriving at the door just as the back walls collapsed onto the table, they left in the knowledge that the Poe Sisters wouldn't be returning for a long time.

* * *

"Here they come!" Zelda exclaimed when she saw them tumbling through the portal back into the real Forest Temple.

"I forgot I'd have to do that again on the way back," Saria mumbled, rubbing her head.

"Oh Link! Saria! You're ok!" Madi squealed, flying over to them and, as usual, making the most noise in the room.

"Of course we are, me and Saria make a great team," Link grinned, pushing the memories of most people in the room to the back of his mind.

"Well, I think we should go back to the castle to discuss things, Malon is there too, oh, speaking of her…" Zelda turned to Link. "She knows everything and is rather mad at you."

"Oh," the image of Malon's hurt expression crept into his mind again. "I'll be sure to talk to her later."

Waiting for everyone to leave for the castle, he reached for Saria's hand and pulled her into a hug.

"I saw a lot of things back there, things from the past that I didn't need to be shown again. They expected me to believe that they could access anyone's memories who was in the house, of course I didn't believe them…"

"What kind of memories?" Saria's face turned slightly pale.

"Well, there were a few of yours, one took place in the lost years but I didn't believe it happened, you're not someone who would think of that…"

Avoiding eye contact, Saria looked down knowing exactly what he was talking about and from her reaction, Link knew that it had been true all along.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked gently.

"I wanted to, I just didn't know what to say. I didn't want you to feel like it was your fault," she wiped the newly forming tears ni her eyes.

"It doesn't matter what it's about, I want to know when something's wrong, even if it's about me. You're the most important person in the world to me and I want you to be happy. I love you."

"Okay," Saria couldn't say much else, she didn't know why she had been afraid of his reaction, he was such an amazing person, so much so, that she couldn't stop herself crying knowing how lucky she was to have him.

"Hey, don't cry, you'll start me off, What would the others think of us if they came back and saw us both crying?" he smiled and kissed her. "But tell me, what brought you out of it?"

"It was the vines, they literally picked me up and put me down on the ground, that's when I realised the temple needed me."

* * *

"So you knew about the pendants all along?" Link asked Nabooru as he, Saria and Taj sat around her on the lush grass of Zelda's private courtyard in the evening sun.

"Somewhat," Nabooru twisted a piece of hair around her finger. I knew they had something to do with Ganondorf but wasn't quite sure what. He was always hiding things and creating strange creatures to use to hide his treasures around the fortress and elsewhere, so I guessed something was going on when he left for Meldora on multiple occasions with those pendants."

"But why didn't you tell us?" Saria asked.

"Because like I said, I wasn't sure. This is one of the reasons I sent Taj, I thought you may like the help of someone who had been to Meldora before and I wanted him to learn something. Did you boy?" she leered at the startled Sheikah.

"Um, I learned that H-Hylians aren't as b-bad as I was led to believe."

"And?" Nabooru pressed him on.

"And… Ganondorf was a liar." he said in a forced tone, it would take him a while to get used to it.

"Then your debt is fully repaid," the Spirit Sage slapped him on the back. "He insisted that he wouldn't leave the fortress until he had repaid me for my kindness in some way so I said it would be if he helped you guys out. Of course, the fortress will always be a home for you kid, but I think a certain Shadow Sage would like to speak with you."

"That would be correct," Impa appeared out of the evening shadows, a look of contempt on her face that only she could perfect as she looked towards Nabooru. "Come with me young man," she pointed to another area of the courtyard where she could speak with the boy alone.

"Soooo Link, did ya bring me anything? Apart from those horrible keys that is," Nabooru grinned, she would always harass Link for presents of treasure when he returned from his adventures. "I mean, Taj did help you a lot right? So you practically owe me something."

"Uh," Link thought of the new items he'd picked up and wondered which he could do without. "Here," he took out the enormous shield they'd found in the Shrine of Imitia, the sun in the centre sparkling when the light bounced off it.

"Oh, how marvellous! This can go on a wall in the temple!" she smiled, referring to the Spirit Temple.

"Hey! Link!" Ruto yelled across the courtyard. "We need to talk," she walked over to them and set herself in the cool water of the moat. "Now, word is that you and Saria got it together and as much as it pains me to say it, I will finally admit defeat for your heart. It's weird, but the first time I met Saria, I kinda liked her, you're hard not to," the Zora nodded to Saria who shot her a smile. "However," she leaned forward and whispered, "if you had gotten with any princess apart from myself, I would have been furious!"

"Um, thank you, I think," Link moved his face away from hers.

"So, now that we've got that cleared up, I wanted to ask you something. Since Saria is now your girlfriend, you're looking for a new best friend, right?"

"Erm no, it doesn't work like that," Link had been hoping she wouldn't do something like this.

"Well ok then, maybe not right now, but I will be fighting for your best friendship Link! You watch, it will be me!" she splashed them both with water before swimming over to speak with the others.

"I think we can go h-," Link was cut off when another voice shouted over to him.

"Hello Hero of Time!" Malon stomped across the grass, her fiery hair blowing out behind her.

"Malon!" he almost choked.

"Why did you lie to me!" she screamed in his face. "I thought we were meant to be friends but obviously not!"

"We are!" he moved back a little. "It's just, you were one of the only people who was friends with me for being me and not for being a hero. It was nice to talk to you without the worry of all of that on my mind, I didn't want to drag you into it… I'm sorry."

The ranch girl eyed him for a moment, wondering whether she should carry on screaming or be touched that he thought of her as a genuine friend. She had to be fair since she didn't yell at Zelda when she found out she had been her mysterious saviour…

"Can you forgive me?" Link asked when she didn't respond.

"Of course I will!" she forgot her anger and almost strangled him in a hug then moved onto Saria and proceeded to do the same to her. "We have a lot of catching up to do! I want to get to know Saria and your charming Fairy friends," she pointed at Madi who was chattering to anyone she could find and Nori who was trying to calm her down.

Over in a corner, Impa and Taj had been discussing how much Sheikah magic Taj knew.

"If you'd like, you could come and live here where I would personally train you," Impa offered.

"That would be an honour, Lady Impa," Taj couldn't believe what he'd been asked. "But I must ask Lady Nabooru first."

"I'm sure she will be fine with it and you can go to visit her whenever you please," Impa gave a rare smile, she finally had someone of her own race to pass on her wisdom to.

"Nori, Madi, we're going home, are you coming or not?" Link asked.

"Yeah!" Madi screamed over everyone else. "We're going home!"

After most people had left the courtyard, Malon shifted over to Zelda with a big grin on her face.

"What's so amusing?" the princess raised an eyebrow.

"Saria told me they went to a place, in the sky!"

"T-they did?" Zelda couldn't believe her books were wrong about something.

"Yep! It was a town suspended in the air on a huge stone pillar!"

"Huh? Technically that's not in the sky, that's just sticking up really high," Zelda mentally sighed, good old books, always so right.

"Nuh-uh! It's in the sky!" Malon wasn't going to be swayed.

"Right, if you say so Malon, if you say so."

* * *

Link, Madi and Perri were sat in the Deku Sprout's Meadow filling the curious guardian in about the trip to Meldora.

"Quite impressive, I must say!" the sprout exclaimed. "And young Madi over there wanted to come back here to learn to be a guardian? That's a brilliant idea! But what in the name of Hyrule is this bird-creature?"

"That's Perri, he's a Pepeckeri who belongs to Saria, I guess she'll come to see you later," Link ducked as the bird tried to peck his head.

"I see," the sprout made a note to put a charm on Perri to stop him being so hostile. "Did you discover anything else on your journey?"

"Hmm, there was the mystery of the Shrine of Imitia, would you know why Madi couldn't see anything in the rooms while the rest of us could?"

"I am not that familiar with the Imitia realm but I do know it reflects the deepest wishes and fears of the person entering it. I'm assuming Madi's greatest wish was to come here but since she had never seen it, she did not remember it, as for her fear, that would be something only she would know."

"What about the appearance of one of the Ebelon Swords in my hand?" Link felt guilty for asking the sprout so many questions.

"My only explanation for that is as you told me, the wound was made by one of those swords so its energy was still in the cut. It will probably leave when the wound is healed."

"We were also wondering something, you mentioned before that Neirol and Aeffia left something behind, is it the Kokiri Sword?"

"I thought it would be obvious to you by now Link, but no, it is not the sword. You are aware of how Hylians reproduce, correct?"

"Not really, I've never had the need to ask," Link felt a little stupid for never wondering.

"Well, it does not matter since Kokiri don't do that!"

"I thought you created them?" Link hoped he was right this time.

"That's right! But do you know how? Each Kokiri is created with a certain energy, some are created from original energy which takes a while for me to make, while others are created from existing energy." the sprout paused and wondered if Link had worked it out yet.

"So… you took energy from… .Aeffia and energy from Neirol and… created Saria! So wait, they're her parents?" he blinked, totally confused.

"No of course they aren't!" the sprout couldn't help chuckling. "But you are right about their energy, hence the similarities between Saria and them both. I also used other energy from certain other Kokiris of the past, one you know rather well."

"Let me guess, you used Reidol's to create Mido? So Mido and Saria could be distantly related by energy… so that's why she chose him to use the magic barrier, she couldn't choose anyone else, but then, that means…"

"She already knew," the sprout was relieved to see Link work it out. "I think from the time she met Neirol, Saria would have realised how they were connected, after all, she already knew how Kokiris are created. Even you have some Kokiri energy in you Link."

"I do?"

"Yes! How else do you think you were able to live in the forest for so long? Of course, yours isn't as strong as the usual Kokiri and it took me a while to make it since it needed to be fused into your blood, that is why I am terribly sorry to say I couldn't pick a Fairy for you for so long, the energy was so different from the rest, only the best would do!"

"So when Mido would say I'm not a true Kokiri, he was wrong?"

"That is correct, you are just as much a Kokiri as the rest of my children and you must never forget that."

* * *

The sun had nearly set over the peaceful forest. Link lay in the soft grass of the tranquil Sacred Meadow, his head resting on his hat as he enjoyed the feeling of knowing there were no more pendants to search for and no more enemies to fight. Staring up at the mixture of yellows and oranges in the misty sky, he closed his eyes and took in the calming sounds of the breeze rustling through the trees. Hearing the sound of Saria coming up the steps from the Lost Woods, he kept his eyes shut pretending to be asleep.

Walking across the meadow, Saria lay down on her side where she placed one hand under her chin and sat staring at Link in silence. He looked so perfect when he slept that she could have easily sat like that forever.

Knowing that she was watching him, Link still kept his eyes closed. He could smell the sweet scent of flowers she always smelled like, they were a rare kind that only grew in certain parts of the woods, he would have to find out their name sometime.

Moving a little closer to him, Saria slowly edged her face towards his, she couldn't resist kissing him when he was like this.

"Saria, can we talk please?" Nori's voice interrupted from within the temple just as her lips brushed over Link's.

Sighing, she jumped up and made her way into the temple. "I'm coming."

Opening his eyes in disappointment, Link frowned, where did his kiss go?

Saria entered the main chamber of the temple and found her Fairy perched on one of the low walls in the centre of the wall. Taking a seat next to him, she waited for him to speak.

"I need to tell you something," Nori began, his voice not his usual confident tone.

"Okay, go on," his tone made her anxious.

"I-I don't know where to begin, really. It has been such an honour to be your guardian Saria, I couldn't have asked for a better charge, but now…"

"Now?" Saria had a vague idea of what was coming but didn't want to say it.

"Now it's time to say goodbye."

The room fell silent between the two, neither wanted the conversation to end. Saria knew exactly why it had to be but didn't want to have to let him go.

"Why?" she asked dumbly, just to prolong their departure.

"You know why… Fairies are for children, you're no longer classed as a child."

"But, I still need you, I-I can't imagine life without you," she could feel the tears coming again, she'd never cried so much in one day for a long time.

"I can't imagine life without you either," he pushed his own tears back, he wouldn't break down in front of her. "The Deku Sprout has given me an ultimatum, one I need to think long and hard over, but for now, it's best if we take some time apart. You need to grow on your own and I need, well I need to let you go."

"What's the ultimatum?" Saria asked curiously.

"I can't tell you now, but I will one day, when I've made my decision. For now you be sure to take care and if Link ever treats you wrong, I'll be the first to give him a piece of my mind. But I'm sure he won't which is good for me since it's the only piece I have left," he smiled when she stopped crying, he could still make a joke when he wanted. "Now, I should go see what chaos Madi has caused with the other Fairies already."

"I'll come visit you in the Deku Sprout's Meadow?" Saria asked as he took to leave.

"Yeah… you can," he took a last glance at the girl he loved so dearly before leaving just as Link was entering.

"Is he ok?" Link asked then noticed she'd been crying. "Are you? What happened?"

"Nothing, just the parting of the ways I suppose."

She didn't need to say anymore since Link knew exactly how she felt. Noticing where they were, he remembered the time he'd came back to see her only days ago, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

"You know, we never did finish what we started here," he gave her a mischievous grin.

"And what was that?"

"This!" he snatched her hair band and dashed towards the elevator

"Oh Link, you jerk!" she laughed and chased him to the elevator which started moving down as soon as they stepped into it.

"You know there's one major difference between the last time we did this and now," he slid his arms around her.

"You mean this?" she leaned up and kissed him.

"Yep, but you still aren't having your headband back," he grinned and ran off when the elevator hit the basement.

"I could easily take it if I really wanted it!" she shouted after him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Butterfly," Link ran into the main basement room, knowing full well that she could take it back if she wanted, it was her temple after all but he had a suspicion she actually enjoyed chasing him.

As they ran, one of them dropped a piece of paper which was the first pictograph they had had taken together at Link's party. On the bottom the two words the pictographer had written read as clearly as they had done on that first day.

'_Cute Couple'_

_

* * *

_

A/N: So there it is, finally uploaded here. I'm sure a lot of people are wondering why it took so long to put the rest of the chapters up and the only thing I can say is sorry. Stuff happens and life gets in the way, you know how it is.

I'd like to say thank you to you all for reading (if you still are after all these years!). I'd also like to thank all the good people who used to go to Intellectual Vacancy for being a huge support during the writing of this story and another thank you to a certain person who hasn't contacted me in a long time who was also a big inspiration to me, I hope he knows who he is if he ever decides to read this again.

And of course, I'm not just going to leave it there. If you want to know what happens next, take a look at the sequel "It Only Takes A Turn".


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